Why is it always the same mom that picks up late?

[wenrob]

Why are some people late? Because they just don't have good time-management skills.

I've been known to have that problem. It's NOT because I think my time is more valuable (ugh at that concept, that anyone who is late feels that way!), but just b/c I don't always think it through. For me to be on time I do have to sit and think the whole thing through, going backwards. It's not second nature to me, and the times when I don't plan it out like that, I'll be late. It most often inconveniences ONLY me...I have to cut my workout short because I've left the garage late, and DS will be making his class (after my workout) on time, so it's only ME that is being shorted, for example. So I have to go "E's class is at 4, 15 minutes to park and get to the locker room for him to shower before swim class, so pull in at 3:45, at least 20 minutes to get cross town, so be leaving garage by 3:20, 5 minutes to get from condo, check mail, get to basement in car etc, oh wait, add 5 minutes to that just in case, get ready 30 minutes before leaving condo, etc etc etc....I *have to* do this EVERY time. And sometimes I just flat out forget to do that. Sometimes I do it but don't share it with the family. Sometimes they are dragging their feet. etc etc etc.

The thing is those of us who are on time do this EVERY time. We know we have to be somewhere by such and time then we plan things accordingly. We don't just magically have perfect time frames, lol.

My sister is the late one, she usually leaves or wakes up at the time she's supposed to be somewhere. The giving her any early time doesn't work, she's onto us. I generally go on with whatever the plan was and she can just catch up when she arrives. If it makes her mad I didn't wait, too bad. It doesn't seem to bother her that she leaves others waiting.

I don't think people who are late necessarily feel self important but they DO think people will wait on them in my experience. Whether it's on purpose or lack of planning it's taking other people's time for granted. If you're constantly late because you fail to plan well then, plan. If you just feel people can wait on you then prepare to be left in the dust because eventually they'll get tired of it.

 

[Stacerita]

People like this wont change unless they get it back. I had friends who were always late to dinner. And they would expect everyone to wait for them. This happened many times over the years. Finally we decided that we would not wait to eat a cold meal. So when it was time to eat, already an hour after our meet up time, we sat down and ate. They showed up some time later and were totally put out. They learned their lesson and were on time from then on. Sure things come up and people run late, but not like that.

 

[tvguy]

Not a fan of late parents.

Also not a fan of parents who say the entire time. I always had my hands full keeping my eye on all the kids, but to have to entertain their parents too was always a pain.

 

[SandrA9810]

I have a hard time estimating how long it actually takes to do something. And until I do something enough times to know, no matter traffic/weather conditions how long it will take me to get there, I'm usually running behind.

Disney is such a stickler for time, it's extremely easy to wind up with a reprimand early on in employment. But as the months passed, I knew exactly how long it would take me to get from home to property and where I needed to be on time. I also knew to the minute where I needed to be on the road. Like clocking in at 8am, I needed to be at the corner of 535/192 no later than 7:12am, any later and I'd be pushing my luck with the buses into MK and running through the tunnels.

It's also the reason why I can get dressed in a hurry in the morning. I don't always realize my extra minute of keeping my eyes shut turns into 10 minutes very easily.

 

[jen0610]

If you said the girls were to be picked up at 4:00, and she picked her daughter up at 3:20, she wasn't late.

Later than she said she would be, yes, but not late picking her daughter up from a party that technically didn't end until 4. Not sure why you are peeved.

If the OP is anything like me, the mom was late based on the fact that SHE (the mom) said she either HAD to pick her daughter up at THREE or five, which five didn't work for OP. Since SHE dictated that her DD be picked up at a special time, the OP, then had to make sure that the girl was ready to go by that time.

If the girl is being picked up at THREE, I would have had her start gathering up her stuff by no later than 2:30. By 2:50, she would have had her stuff sitting by the front door, shoes on, jacket ready for her to grab and go as soon as the mom got there. And if these girls are anything like my DD and her friends - a sleepover entails a lot of stuff.