Right Place–Wrong Time

Back in the day when my kids were in school,  I showed up on time for an appointment for my conference with the child’s teacher.  In those days I always prided myself on being on time.  I was busy, had all five of my children in school at various levels, and I worked full-time for the newspaper.   That meant frequent meetings to cover and conflicts with schedules.   So I went out of my way to schedule appointments around other obligations.

When I got to the school I found where I was supposed to be, double-checked the time, and waited patiently for my turn to come.  7:00 PM came and I gathered my purse and coat, and stood to be ready when my name was called.

But when the call came it was not MY NAME, it was some other parent’s.  Annoyed, I waited quietly until the 7:15 appointment was called–and then the 7:30!      By this time I was not only annoyed, but highly indignant that someone had forgotten to schedule my appointment, or that someone had stepped into my place out of turn.

Well…it was MY turn, and some inconsiderate, rude, person had taken my appointment, and BY GOLLY I would just get in there before anyone else could get ahead of me.

I huffed and puffed about the grave injustice that had been done to me, and stated how I always tried to be fair and honest…and that I would NEVER just elbow my way into a line.

The teacher listened to my tirade, then pulled a second list from below the one she was working from….then she said quietly and politely:
“Your appointment is TOMORROW night.”

Of course I was ready to crawl under a desk and hide.   The conference continued, although I was too embarrassed to pay much attention.  Then I tried to stammer through some kind of explanation/apology to the parent behind me–who was the REAL appointment–but as luck would have it, the entire transaction was conducted quietly and tactfully by the teacher, and no one knew of my terrible deed except her–and ME.

I still feel stupid when I think of that incident now, some forty years later!

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/humble-pie/”>Humble Pie</a>