You arrived 5 days after your due date. That is about the only time running late will ever be truly acceptable in your life.
In sports growing up I heard more than one coach use the phrase – “If you’re early, you’re on time — If you’re on time, you’re late — and if you’re late, you run!” That was some pretty good motivation to be at all practices not simply on time, but even a few minutes early. To be honest, I actually managed to get a lot done in those few early minutes. When I showed up early to practice I had time to warm up on my own, stretch, focus, or maybe ask the coach a question or two before it was time to get started with the day’s practice plans. I quickly learned that being punctual was important.
If my coaches weren’t able to get it through my head then my dad (Your Ba-Pa) definitely tried his hardest to get the point across. With him we were always at places approximately 5-10 minutes early. I have to admit there were times I didn’t understand the point. Other times, however, it brought some neat rewards. Being just 10 minutes early to Grant’s Farm in St. Louis, Missouri allowed my dad and I to get a close-up and rather behind-the-scenes look at their collection of Clydesdale foals. For a horse girl like your momma, that was a big deal! The workers weren’t busy with other guests and we weren’t being intrusive just patiently waiting for our early morning tour so they were more than willing to talk with us and show us around in places they couldn’t always take big groups of people.
Being on time is a great skill. It isn’t likely that your future boss will make you go running if you are late to a meeting or that your college professors will you give you a sneak peek at a test if you are early. However I can assure you that being late to a job interview significantly decreases your chances of employment. Turning in assignments late at work decreases your value to your boss and soon your value to a company. Not being on time to a test in college will often mean you don’t even get the opportunity to take it. Be on time–better yet be early.
Arriving early (we are talking 5-10 minutes here, not two hours which would just be creepy) to places benefits you almost every time. Try not arriving a bit early to an airport like Chicago O’Hare and I assure you that you won’t make that mistake again. When you arrive early to a job interview you have time to take a look around a potential place of future employment. You also have a chance to double check your appearance, glance over your resume, say a prayer, and collect your thoughts. Arriving early to a test means that you can take some deep breaths, make sure you have all your supplies, stare at your notes, and smile at those panicked flustered faces of your peers who are sneaking in the door at the last minute.
C’mon girl–set that alarm clock and please be on time!
Cause Mom Says So 