I have always been of the belief that if you’re not early then you are late. I suppose I started this belief early in life as my mother tells me that I even arrived early for my own birth. I can’t remember the details exactly but I probably wanted to hurry and be born before the other babies arrived so I could get the best bassinet in the nursery.

If I realized that the doctor was going to spank me within minutes of birth I might not have been so eager. We won’t even discuss what he did with those little scissors.

My passion for being on time continued to follow me throughout my school days and have continued in my professional life. I cannot promise I’ll do anything worthwhile once I get there but I will most certainly get there early to do it.

I’ve never been accused of being a guy that enjoys parties. However, I recently obligated myself to attend when I signed up to bring my famous deviled eggs to a work dinner.

I didn’t realize the dinner was actually at the co-worker’s house and just like that I was in a situation I couldn’t get out of. The party started at 7 p.m. so of course, I arrive at 6:50. When the co-worker answered the door they looked at me like I had two heads. As I sat alone on their couch while they took a shower, I did a quick google search and learned that when a party is scheduled for a certain time, they don’t actually expect you to arrive until at least an hour after that.

So basically it’s all a horrible lie. They tell you one time while expecting you to actually arrive at whole different time. It was OK I just sat there alone and caught up on emails and then left early because other people started to arrive interrupting my solace.

I used to go down to the movie theater to catch a movie. I’ve never been much of a movie guy either so I admit that I was only there to partake in the buttery popcorn. I would arrive 20 minutes before the movie started and that would give me time to purchase enough overpriced chocolate to send me into a diabetic coma. I would pick out which seat I wanted and enjoy the coming attractions.

It seems that without fail there would always be those late comers who dragged themselves into the theater during the first 30 minutes of the movie and break my focus on the happenings on the big screen. Of course, you always have that person who has to get up during the movie for snacks or go to the restroom. The more soda they purchase the more they get up for the restroom. It’s a never ending cycle. 

It’s funny how people are different in their timelines.

I remember a few years ago we went to the movies with our then teenage son. The movie was set to start at 7:15 so of course at 6:20 I began herding everyone into the vehicle to go. Our son couldn’t understand why we were leaving so early. He asked me if I needed to borrow money to pay for the tickets. I said that I didn’t but had to ask why. He said I thought you might be going early to sweep the theater since only employees will be there.

I’ll have to end our discussion as I have an appointment in two hours and I don’t want to be late.