Okay, if you're thoroughly dazzled by the picture, I'll confess that I went looking for a clockface image and found this and was so wowed that I had to use it. . . despite the fact that it implies time under control and the topic I had in mind is. . . being timewise out of control. You see, over the numerous years of my bohemian "artistic" lifestyle (okay, I'll wait while you get the laughter under control) I have become. . . um. . . less than punctual.I am chronically 5-15 minutes late for everything. . . or at least I have been. Doctor's appointments-- fffft. Church services. . . always arrive during the announcements and have to sit up front. . . GROAN. Taxes-- always file the extension and then thrash out the details during the summer. Probably waaaaay more info than you need about me.
I blame it on my "late" (the irony here does not escape me) but much beloved German-descent husband, whom I came to depend on for expectations of promptness. When his earthly time expired, so did my promptness gene. His Prussian desire for order had always kept my British-heritage eccentricity and absent-mindedness in check. For a number of years now, I've run amok. . . time-wise.
I'm trying to clean up my act.
My dear family roll their eyes when I say this-- but I am shocking them these days by appearing for things on time. I arrive at the movie theater in time to both get popcorn and see my way to seats without having to flatten a few toes in the dark. I appear at family dinners before the serving begins. I show up for doctor appointments on time. . . mostly. I even make my deadline for this blog. (Hey, the calendar it says, Tuesday; it doesn't say WHEN on Tuesday!) And all due to my new timekeepers. . . my beloved fiance and my new watch. His expectations that I will behave like a grown-up and be respectful of others time is having an effect. That, and I keep the watch set ahead by five minutes.
Laugh if you will, but setting my watch ahead really does fool me into working harder to get out the door on time. Apparently I have a boundless capacity for self-delusion, because I regularly FORGET that it's set ahead. I treat what I see on that adorable little watch face as if it were real. And I usually get places on time these days.
Whatever works.
But honestly, I'm seeing time a little differently these days. A couple of my dear friends from girlhood have died untimely, recently, making me think about the value of the time I have. And as a result of personal circumstances, I'm out and about in the world more these days. I'm thinking more of others and trying to travel through the world in a more loving and respectful way.
Writers often seem self-absorbed. . . including me. Well, there's a reason for that. It's damned hard to commute between the world in your head and the world of the rest of you in 1.2 seconds flat. And sometimes we fail to completely extract ourselves from our "otherworld" because the commute is just too daunting. Once we're completely back in reality, it takes us too long to get back into the story again. . . so we're always torn about leaving it. Does that make sense to anyone but me?
Anyway. . . I'm working hard to be more on time these days. No more "Tina-time." Okay, not much of it. Because the commute from Victorian Days to 21st Century America is still pretty long. But I'm less afraid of making that trip these days. The story will be there when I'm ready to go back to it. And it's a good story, so I can let it go and let it run in my subconscious for a while without me.
Yeah, but I'm still less than thrilled about commuting from Victorian London or Henley on Tyne to the dentist's office.
What about you? Are you punctual, a slackard, or somewhere in between? Have your "time habits" changed over the years? Are there some places you just can't seem to arrive on time? Oooooh-- do you wear a watch these days? They say that the younger generation is abandoning watches because there are so many incidental time pieces in their lives. . . cell phones, computers, and the like. Have you stopped wearing a watch?
Actually I wanted to add that today is National Donald Duck Day. Bet you didn't know that. Don't get me started on calendars. I totally missed National Chocolate Ice Cream Day on June 7th and I'm feeling reeeeaaalllly deprived. On the up-side. June 23rd is National "Pink" Day. I'm still in time for that!
