Thursday, September 16, 2010

On time...

As a grown up, I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through experience. Many of them I learned from my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all the nieces and nephews out there.They may not work for everybody and you may not agree with all of them, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.

# 30 On time is fifteen minutes early

I know exactly where I learned this valuable piece of advice. It  was not from a parent or an aunt. It was from a director of mine, the late Kimber Cox. When I was twelve I got accepted into a theatre troop for teens at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, TN. It was called "And so Forth" and I felt like a Broadway star. Kimber Cox was the director and he was a wonderful man. He was tolerant of a lot of things, but tardiness was not one of them. He was very patient when it came to giggling or whispered conversations, however he would always say, "On time is fifteen minutes early," and then we would all have to repeat it back to him. This was a ritual every time we left and until we met again.
I always wondered why fifteen minutes was such a big deal. Why didn't he just tell us we needed to be there fifteen minutes early to begin with, then we would all have been on time. It took at least until I started driving to figure it out. If school starts at 7:15 and you get there at 7:15, you are guaranteed to be late. No matter what. By the time you park your car and get to your locker and chat with your friends, you are guaranteed to slide into homeroom at least fifteen minutes later.
The same goes for work. My shift starts at 4:45, at 4:46, I am late. If I arrive at 4:40, by the time I get upstairs, say hello to everyone along the way, gulp some soda, change my clothes and use the ladies room, I am royally late. If I arrive at 4:30, it is exactly enough time to do all of the things mentioned above and be in the meeting on time. Wow, it's amazing.
It took me a really long time to understand the full significance of this proverb, but now that I have it, I can't even tell you the last time I was late and it was my fault. Or really the last time I was late.
On time is fifteen minutes early. You'll never be late again.

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