Last Minute Madness

May 3, 2008

posted by Shelley

Have you ever noticed how so many people leave things until the last minute? It’s not something that just started yesterday — it’s been driving me crazy for years. Growing up in the grocery store my parents owned, my brother and I spend many hours stocking shelves and checking out valuable customers. Closing time was 9:00 pm. And get this — that’s when our family had dinner…after the grocery store closed. We would watch the clock without a soul in sight from 8:00 pm until about 8:55 pm. Just like clockwork, 1/2 of the burg’s residents would show up for a gallon of milk or a pack of smokes.

I can remember my Dad always greeting everyone with a smile and telling them it was just peachy they waited till the last minute. It made me grumpy. Did those people care that we had lives too? Did they care that we wanted to have dinner (something they most likely had already enjoyed) or that we were tired? Of course not! The only thing on their mind was THEIR needs.

It still makes me grumpy when others wait until the last minute. When I get work sent to me by a client on a Friday afternoon at 5:00 pm, only because they wanted it off of THEIR desk before the weekend, I tell them that it’s all good (after all, I am my father’s daughter.) Inside, my stomach tightens up and my blood pressure makes my heart beat in my throat. Grrrrrrrr….