Slice of Lucy: What Does It Mean To Be Late?

What Does It Mean To Be Late? 

What does it mean to be late? 

It might mean the plane taxis to the runway without you.

Or you get an annoying fee added to your credit card bill. 

Or you might be delivering a baby in about nine months!

This morning, it meant another exasperated car ride to school, deafening, tense silence blooming between my teenager and me. 

My son is a night owl, sleeps through anything, and is a sloth in the morning. During middle school, he would ride with me for our taxing five-minute commute, arriving nonplussed because my start of day was earlier than his. He slow-rolled into school like he had all of the time in the world while I slouched self-consciously into the faculty meeting. 

Fast forward to this year, my son has to catch the shuttle from my school to his before my start time. All of a sudden, he really cares about being on time. He might not spring out of bed until 7:35 a.m., but he is wheedling about it being 7:45 a.m. the second the oven clock presents the magic numbers. How can he not see the irony of his snarky comments as we race out the back door and his leg-pumping as we wait for the light to change to green?

What does it mean to be late? 

Sometimes, it just means things did not go to plan, a detail was neglected, or a barrier presented itself stubbornly in your path.

But it can mean you do not care enough about another person's day or, simply, about someone other than yourself.

It can mean you did what you wanted instead of what you should have.

It can mean stress and disappointment and disrespect.

If we compare time to location, it is plain to see how much precision matters. If we agree to meet at 41° N, 81° W, which is Cleveland, Ohio, and you arrive a few degrees to the north, you will be floundering in Lake Erie, and I will be tapping my foot impatiently, wondering where you are. We will not be in the same place, and I'm guessing we will have feelings about that! 

Time, expressed in hours and minutes, is just a human construct, literally invented to facilitate a workable train schedule. Yet, it bears more meaning when navigated and negotiated between two people. I know too well the impact my son's delays had on me in previous years, so I think I am going to try to do better each morning with him in mind. Giving up a few minutes of washing dishes in trade for a calm, on-time departure would mean a great deal to both of us.