Keeping time

I am, generally, someone who likes to be on time for things. If I'm going somewhere I don't know or am travelling at an unfamiliar time (e.g. at 8:45am, on a Tuesday, when I usually travel at 7:15pm), I give myself a little extra time to get there.

When I was at uni the last time round one of my good friends was appalling at her timekeeping, to the point if I (or a few of the rest of her friends) were meeting her we'd tell her a time half an hour before the time we'd want to meet, so she'd only be 5 minutes late. Back then, we'd be meeting to go for lunch or shopping (or drinking), so it wasn't too much of an issue. And the rest of us found it just a wee bit amusing that she never realised we were telling he a different time from the rest of us.

Now I'm training for ministry, I see my ability to be on time as a really useful skill. How uncaring would it look to turn up late for a funeral visit or, worse, be late for the crem? Then there's things like school assemblies, where if the pupils are expected to be on time, the least I can do is have the same standards they are expected to adhere to. From my summer placement, I also experienced that relationships with the teachers can be built up through being that little bit early for school assembly. As far as I'd be concerned in a parish, I'd be chaplain to the whole school, not just the pupils. If I regularly turned up just in time (or late), those relationships would be harder to build up, as teachers may be doing their jobs! I may also begin to not be asked to attend by the school, due to me sending out the wrong signals to the pupils - that once you're an adult, no one will criticise you for lateness.

Now I know there are times when 'real life' or another part of ministry may get in the way of being early or on time, but they should be the exception, not the rule. Over the summer, I had arranged to met a friend after some pastoral visits, but the nature of them was that I couldn't meet my friend. They knew what I was doing, that I am on time (usually), so worked out something must have cropped up. They understood, too, that in the situation I couldn't phone or text them. But, if I'd been someone who regularly was late, they may not have even realised I wasn't going to make it.

I just wonder how I would cope (or tackle) with someone I worked with who's timekeeping was appalling and doesn't see it as a problem? Do I not work with them, or adopt the technique I used with my friend all those years ago? This is something for me to ponder, as I am all too aware I am not very tolerant of regular lateness.