A late story
I walk down the stairs and round the corner into the family room to see Emma curled up in a chair with her favorite book. It’s Sunday morning. We are supposed to leave to church in 5 minutes. She has rolled out of bed into this chair. She is unshowered. Nowhere near being ready to walk out the door.
I come unglued. I don’t yell. I do a very muffled scream inside my clenched teeth and closed mouth. I throw a mini-fit in my mind as I walk to the laundry room. This is not the first Sunday this has happened. This has been years of Sundays. For a long time I have subscribed to the idea of being late and happy than on time and surly.
Lately though, I’ve been thinking there has GOT to be some other answer. Not just for church on Sunday but for everywhere we go. We are late most everywhere. I’ve tried everything I can think of.
I know all of the stuff that says people don’t respect other people when they are late (trust me, I’ve hear it). I know that it’s rude to be late. I totally get it. I don’t revel or love being late. I work at trying to early…or even on time. I have to say…some people do other things that are flawed ways of doing things. Our flawed thing is being late. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things that everyone sees and knows.
I know the answer lies with me in large part. I know that if I can figure out an answer for …then I can figure out answers for other days.
A solution!
I stand in the laundry room. I say a little prayer. “Heavenly Father, why are we always late? What can I do? What am I not seeing. Please show me.” Immediately the thought comes into my mind: “Shower time needs to have a cut off time.” It seems so simple.
We could be on time if no one could get in the shower after 9:15am. It’s 9:23am right now.
Even though I know it’s best to give kids advanced notice when rules change sometimes I think it’s good to put an idea immediately into practice. I knew this was the answer. We could be on time to church TODAY. That win for everyone would help us next week.
Theory turned to practice or…what happened next
I walk up the stairs, knowing that three people have not gotten in the shower. I knock on the closed bathroom door and announce that all showers have to be done by 9:15am. It’s after 9:15 so no more showers today.
That morning 3 of my kids went to church without a shower. That evening at our family meeting we talked about the difference that rule made. The following week when everyone woke up I said, “All showers have to be done by 9:15. It’s your choice what you do with your time between now and then.”
We walked out the door and everyone was showered.
And we were early to church. Two weeks in a row was our new record.
Pivotal moments
Finding the pivotal moment in the process of getting out of the house was a huge key to being on time for our family. (Now to figure that out for other moments of our life!)
Getting to school on time in the mornings involves me setting timers for eating breakfast, reading scriptures, gathering school supplies, and being in the car. A timer is a on-time-lifesaver for us on school mornings. It just wasn’t working the same way for Sunday mornings.
What do you do in order to be on time places? Are you on time to EVERYthing? If so, how do you do that?
Davina Fear is a Familyness Adventurer. She gave an interview about criticism and who to listen to.
She blogs at davinafear.com. Have you signed up for Better Together: A Marriage Adventure? Get your seat here!
By day, I photograph families. By night, I build forts the size of elephants with my family. I live in a yellow house. I believe real life is the best getaway ever.
2 Comments
I was thinking about this the other day, how in my early 20’s, I was late to work every shift! After being written up twice and a threat of job loss- I just decided/resolved to not be late anymore! I discovered I estimated my time poorly (counting back to how much time was needed), and decided to be early! To this day (34 yo) I want an on time reputation, and I estimate better! I am occasionally late sometimes though (to appts etc), just part of life 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Lisa! I’m so impressed that you are on time most everywhere now! How did you get better at estimating how much time it took you to be somewhere? I think that’s a key issue for me. Even today, I was working on a project. I guessed how long it would take me to finish it and then times’d (is that a word) it by three (which was my own deadline not an actual project for a client deadline). Still, it took longer than what I had guessed would be an over-estimation…. Of course, I’m talking about completing projects and not arriving somewhere on time but I think they must have similar principles. Way to make such a lasting change, Lisa!