“He’ll be here soon, don’t worry about it.”
“Okay, so I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yup, see you tomorrow. Have a great night!”
It was near midnight and my then-girlfriend was asking me if I wanted a drive home from the movie theater.
But I was okay. After all, I just got off the phone with my dad (on a payphone, nonetheless…) and he said he was on his way.
At the time, I lived no more than a 5-minute drive away from the theater. So I didn’t expect he’d be very long.
But after 5 minutes? Nothing.
10 minutes? Still nothing.
25 minutes? Still no sign of the big man.
With no more change in my pocket or a cell phone to save the day, it was now past midnight and the theater was closing.
Annoyed, agitated, livid, and a little embarrassed, I made the call to start walking home.
Two and a half kilometers.
On a busy highway.
In the middle of the night.
14-years-old.
Man, I was mad. A little scared, too.
I remember being so flustered I rage-cried most of the way home.
Then I got there…
But as I walked up the driveway, I noticed something strange.
The car was on.
“Little late to be leaving now,” I sarcastically thought to myself.
So I puffed up my chest and walked inside ready to give my dad an earful of adolescent lecturing.
But when I got in the living room…
There was my dad…
Fast asleep on the couch!
Now, if you know my dad, this isn’t entirely surprising.
He must have started the car to warm it up, laid back down for a second, and then dozed off again. Classic dad, really.
The comedy of it all lightened my mood.
So I woke him up and told him what happened. Man, was he ever sorry. I could tell he was just devastated to let that happen to me.
5 minutes later, we brushed it off, shut off the car, and retreated to our chambers to call it a night.
And what a night it was.
Anyway, this is only one small (but memorable) story of my pet peeve in action. Every now and then, it rears its ugly head to boil my blood a little.
And when it does, man does it ever grind my gears.
Can you guess what my pet peeve is?
If you haven’t clued in yet and need a little help…
Allow me to fill you in so you don’t have to continue waiting.
Because in fact, that’s exactly what I’m talking about here:
Waiting.
And not waiting as in “I’m waiting for the right opportunity to come my way”… or “I’m waiting for the sun to start shining again”… or “I’m waiting for my food to be ready”… or anything like that.
No no — the waiting I’m talking about is different.
It’s the type of waiting that happens after someone doesn’t show up when they said they would.
It’s waiting for guests an hour after your party starts.
Or waiting for a babysitter who’s already 10 minutes late.
Or waiting for your drive at school after everyone’s gone home.
Or even at a movie theater after it’s already closed.
Surely, you’ve waited on someone like this before.
And chances are, you didn’t feel very good about it, either.
Because here’s the truth:
When someone is counting on you to show up, it’s a slap in the face when you don’t. Especially after you said you would.
So if you want an easy way to make someone’s day…
Just be somewhere when you said you would.
In fact, a few minutes earlier is even better 😉
===
And when you’re ready 