Anyone who knows me at all knows one important thing about me: I am always early. Always. For everything. Parties, doctor appointments, play dates, oil changes… I don’t ever remember a time when I was not at least fifteen minutes early for anything that had a scheduled start time.
Now, if the rest of the world would run on schedule, this would be nothing more than a minor annoyance. Unfortunately, the world is filled with total slackers fashionably late inhabitants. When my hairdresser is running a mere twenty minutes late, it’s over an hour for me. I’ve already absorbed the best of the trashy magazines before even donning a smock. Doctor offices are maddening when a thirty minute wait turns into an hour. A few years ago, I recall Jeff and I showing up for a party called for seven at six fifty (and this was after we killed twenty minutes pacing the hallways.) The host answered the door with a towel on her head and a glazed look on her face. I didn’t expect people until eight at the earliest, she barked. (Oops.) So, we took on the fun task of pre-party vacuuming. You’d think I would have learned a lesson, but no such luck.
Surely, once I was responsible for people other than myself, my internal clock would slow down like the rest of the world’s, right? Believe it or not, it’s actually gotten worse. Now, I overestimate the amount of time it will take times three. Everybody is inevitably ready to go ahead of schedule and rather than wait around, we leave early. A few weeks ago I met a friend for a noon lunch. When she waltzed in at quarter past, I’d already been there well over a half hour with three hungry and cranky children. The snacks had been consumed, crayons used and storied told. By the time we placed our orders my children were ready for a nap.
I simply do not understand—why on earth is it so difficult to be on time? If I can do it with three young children in tow, what excuse does the rest of the world have? Do people just not care? Do they lose track of time? Miscalculate? I’ve tried taking the “can’t beat them, join them” approach, but I just don’t have it in me. So, I continue the only way I know how. And I ask one thing of you: If you ever have the pleasure of meeting me in person, please try to be on time. Without a doubt, I’ll already be there. Waiting.
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{ 49 comments }
Really, I have the best intentions to be there on time. Seriously, I do. I think to myself that if I plan on leaving thirty minutes early, I should be able to leave on time and be where I am going on time, but to no avail. Something inevitably comes up and I leave late, rush as fast as I can to get there and hope that somewhere along the way I can possibly pass through a time warp and arrive before I left. What? It could happen. Just because it never has, doesn’t mean it won’t.
I already know you and you know me and we both know that I will NEVER be on time. Thank goodness you love me.
Wow! You know the rest of the world is not going to change so you really really need to start waiting around the house before you leave. Just when you’re about leave, then add 10 minutes on that. Then you won’t be waiting so long. Just stop the insanity!!!!!!!!! :) Especially at the docs office. You know you’re not going to be late.
your great
My name is Jenni…and I procrastinate and am habitually late. I come from a long line of people who can’t be on time, on my mother’s side.
You know every day I learn how much we are alike. I cannot stand people that are late. I am always early, or on time. I could never understand why when I go see the doc’s for some med’s, no surgery, no exam, just a bottle of friggin drugs please, I have to wait an extra hour or so. And why does he charge me for an hour when I’m there, physically seeing him for 10 minutes? What’s up with that? Can I do that in my business? hell no, I’d lose soooo many customers.
I am always early or on time–only late in cases of extreme emergency! I have to remind myself as well, that others are usually not on my schedule. I have several friends (and relatives) that have their own clock completely. If I want to meet them at a certain time, like noon, I tell them that I’d like to meet them at 11:30. Then, I don’t have to wait so long! Sneaky, I know.
I know the feeling. :)
Your awesome!
I LOATHE being late! It gets me all bothered, but I do admit I am late now more than I have ever been before. It drives me crazy. So you can be driven crazy by the people who are late and I can be driven crazy when I find myself late :)
I’m with you. Once I showed up fifteen minutes early for an OB appt. (Now I was 36 weeks prego at this pt.) I waited in the waiting room for an hour and a half before I was escorted to the exam room. Then I was told to put on the paper gown sans panties. And they left me to wait there for FORTY FIVE minutes before the nurse came back.
I was livid.
You and I would get along just beautifully!!
I’ve never been late- EVER! Always early! my friend on the other hand has NEVER been on time- in fact she has been DAYS late. Drives me nuts. It seems sort of passive agressive, control issue retarded to be late all the time.
I do not like it when people show up early, so I wait to be “on time”. That is the way I was in business, not early, not late but on time.
After my son was born, I don’t know why but I would get so stressed out to be “on time” that I ended up not wearing a watch for many years.
Now that he is older, I am back to my ontime schedule, but I also was tired of waiting around for people so maybe that’s why I started being “late”. Now I just don’t hang out with people that are like that.
I am SO with you on this!
If I’m headed for a Doctor’s appt. and I’m not there, in the office, at LEAST 10 min. early, I start to break a sweat. And yes, I had to vacuum for my SIL’s party once, because we arrived a tad early.
Let me ask you this… Do you also change lanes WAY ahead of time before you need to exit or make a turn? I ALWAYS do and you wouldn’t believe how nervous it makes me when my husband drives, because he NEVER does.
Haha! I love it! I used to be early to everything (I got it from my dad – he goes to the airport at least an hour & a half early!).
I'm not as good as I used to be and find myself getting to work a few mins. past 8 all of the time. It bothers me.
I agree w/ you though. If you are meeting someone and they are late, it makes you feel like your time is not important to them. And good work – how in the world are you always on time w/ 3 kids in tow?!
I give myself a brain tumour daily trying to be “on time”. Because I HATE being early, and I DESPISE being late. Do you know how hard it is to time shit perfectly, especially now that I have a kid??
Oh, now you have issued a challenge… It is GAME ON SISTER. If we ever meet IRL, I will be sure to arrive an HOUR ahead. So there!
just kidding. If you want to be early, who am I to squash your joy?
:-)
I am always early or exactly on time. I feel it is an arrogance. Unfortuneatly my husband being a doctor is on “doctor time” which is like a time zone for another universe, it makes me insane.
Oh, I am SO with you on this one. I really believe some people just don’t have a good sense of time. The other ones just don’t give a crap. So frustrating! You know where it’s super-annoying? AT WORK. When you’re sitting alone in a conference room, drumming your fingers on a boardroom table, waiting for the rest of your coworkers to wander in, ten or fifteen minutes after the called time. UGH!
I’d still rather be the dork who’s always early than the crackpot who looks bad when they waltz in late.
I am so with you. How about meetings that you get to, of course, early and then they don’t start until 15 minutes after the appointed start time? Maddening. And, I have passed this on in a big way to my daughter. She would leave the day ahead, if we would let her.
I’m sorry. I will try to be on time. I promise.
I am always late, no matter how hard I try. It always seems as though there is a time warp between the garage door to the house and the car. It ranges anywhere from 5-10 minutes.
I just don’t get it.
Should we ever meet, I will leave a week early to get there in plenty of time. ;)
Oh, poor Jill, you would drop dead with a heart attack living in Miami with all the latins. You know, “latin time” is about 1-2 hours later than anything else. Seriously. (Also known as Cuban time).
Jill, I recently heard this quote that I think is fitting to your blog…”early is on time. on time is late!”
Unfortunately I am neither – I’m just LATE – ALWAYS! My only saving grace is that my husband despises being late, so as long as Im with him I’m on time – but I guess according to the quote that would still make me late!
crap! who thought of that quote…probably someone who was waiting in the Dr.’s office!
I tend to be on time… a few minutes early, at best.
My sis-in-law is notorious for being late. Always. No matter what time we’re meeting, or what we’re doing… she’ll be the last to show. So we’ll tell her to meet @ 6:30… but tell everyone else 6:45.
We’re so bad.
I’m with you! I too have to be early or at least on time. Can’t stand to be late and can’t stand for others to be late!
Finally, someone else that’s early too. I fight this with my hubby because he wants to arrive at the last minute everywhere and I can’t stand that. He’d rather be late than early. How does one work with that. Oh well.
Angie sent me over and I didn’t know you made those wonderful baskets of delight?! Fabulous!
You wouldn’t have to wait on me. I’m so with you on all of it. Pre-baby I was easily 20 minutes early, now I’m at least 10 minutes early . . . thankfully my hubby feels the same . . . and I’ll tell you, we HATE going to the baby’s doctor . . . I mean if you are consistenly 30 minutes late, and we are always 15 minutes early (=45 minute wait for us) . . . don’t get all upset if we seem ticked when you come saunterring in . . . hope you have a good day! :-)
The one and only thing my husband and I fight over…okay that’s a lie …we fight over everything ..is my tardiness!
I am perpetually 5 minutes late…because I am tyding or something and I get carried away! I am ready but trying to cram just one more thing in before we go!!!
It drives my husband crazy!
NICE! I have the same issues. Always early. Always. With one exception…. Library events (story time, music time, what have you)! I’m always late for those.
I came to your site through another site and read your blog about being early…those of us who are always late don’t understand the early people either…it goes both ways!!!
You would die in Trinidad. Just go our of your mind and die. It is considered rude to be on time in Trini, especially for a house party. hehehehe. You would be quite happy in Estonia though. Jeez these people are annoyingly punctual.
It’s a cultural thing. In the Caribbean, I grew up on West Indian Time, always one hour after the posted time. Now, if I arrive less than an hour after the time on the invitation, I’m early.
I’d be right there waiting with you on most days. But even I have my moments of oversleeping, or just having a really bad day and ending up late. But I ALWAYS call when I am going to late!
I USED to be you – until I married my hubs – WHO IS ALWAYS late – and he makes me late – I can’t take it!!!!!!
I used to be on time too until I got married. Now family members tell us to be there an hour before we are actually supposed to be…SIGH! trinitygsd at yahoo dot com
I hate late. Then I moved to Macon, Georgia, and I was forced into submission. I could either go insane or adjust to the fact that NO ONE is EVER on time. Sigh.
I have to admit that I’m normally late. I’m late everyday to work so I just say that 8:20, instead of 8:15 is my starting time.
I try not to keep someone waiting more than 5 minutes but it’s inevitable that it will be 5 minutes. I’m bad. ~sigh~
I really did mean to leave a comment as soon as you posted this but I didn’t realize time was getting away from me.
it’s because they just don’t care about others. I’m also early for pretty much everything, unless my DH has slowed me down…maddening! I have actually sent a complaint letter to the dr’s office and have always been seen on time since, hahhaha!
I absolutely identify with you. I have spent my life being on time. But to te rest of the world I am anything but right. I am pouty, surly,snotty, etc. because it annoys me that I always am kept waiting. Love your site
(hanging head in shame) I try to be on time. I swear I do. In fact, I try to be early. But then I have to run back in because I forgot something. Then I have to turn around down the road because the kids forgot something. Then I have to get gas because I forgot the tank was on “E”. And well…you know.
I’m right there with you! I am paranoid about being late so I always overestimate and end up beign early. My inlaws are always at least 30 minutes late and it drives me wild!!! We’ve started telling them to be at a place at a time earlier then we need them to be…for instance we want them there at 3:00, we tell them 2:30 and then they get there on time!
I just realized we will never meet because you would end up leaving before I ever got there. Thankfully I can continue to read your posts without personally insulting you with even doing that “late”…usually a day or two after you write them…and usually being the 40th or 50th commenter as usual… big sigh…
I’m so glad to hear that I’m not the only one who feels this way…this will save me HOURS of therapy! :)
This is so me..I have actually constituted a AIS (A** in Seat) time in my house because these slackers would make anyone late..I always figured if you were 5 minutes early to something you were late…LOL
being early and on time is the best! you rock! the world would be better with more people like you!
I am much the same way. One friend in my “circle” is so not. One time we all had to gang up on her and tell her how we thought it was rude that she was so inconsiderate. She hasn’t changed.
I am also an early bird. But, I married a slow poke. No matter how much I gripe, he does not give in to me.
I enjoyed reading your post, well actually, several of them. We have way too much in common.
Long time, no see!
I am ALWAYS early as well. We once had someone dating someone in the family that would be over 2 hours late regularly…..One time there were about FIFTEEN of us out to dinner and this woman showed up 1 1/2 late knowing that we were all waiting for her! Did she call, H no. Ugh. Glad she’s gone…
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