Why is YOUR Time More Valuable Than Mine?!

There are few things in life that piss me off more than having my time wasted. Time is the most expensive thing we spend that cannot be refunded. My time is very valuable to me. I hate having it wasted, especially when it is through no fault of my own.

Today, two instances occurred in which my time was wasted. The first occasion was with my OB/GYN who was running a little late because he'd just delivered a baby. That I can understand and accept. Babies move on their own time and refuse to be rushed so really I'm okay with that. And, since he apologized and I got to eat two delicious fruit bars while I waited, I can't complain. But some doctors are just assholes about it. As if because they have fifty leven degrees in their name, we're supposed to just suck it up and deal with it.

I hate going to the doctor with a passion. Why? Because I'm always being told something I don't want to hear and I always have to wait long past my appointment time just to hear it. I got bad news today, but meh I'm always getting bad news so it's whatever. And the fruit bars made up for it.

The other instance in which my time was wasted was during a parent teacher conference that never happened. Not because I didn't show up 10 minutes on time. Side note: I truly loathe the "CP time" stereotype. That's "colored people time" for those of you who don't know. It's a stereotype about how black people are always late. Well, not me. I am pretty much always on time. Sometimes, I'm more than 30 minutes early. Being late is a pet peeve of mine because it shows a lack of respect for the other person or people waiting on you. Now, I don't mind the person who is late occasionally, but the habitual line stepper who is always late drives me nuts. The only time I don't keep to a schedule is when I'm on vacation.

Anyway, back to the second instance. My middle son's teacher was not only late, she was a no show. Now, school protocol is this:

Due to security concerns, all doors are locked before, during, and after school. If you are meeting with a teacher after school hours, please check in with the front office and WAIT for the teacher to come and escort you to the classroom for the meeting.

That is STRAIGHT from the parent handbook. And, when I got there it is exactly what the principal told me to do. Now look, this ain't my first rodeo. I've had kids in this school for the last three and a half years. I know procedure. And after the poor babies got gunned down at Sandy Hook, shit has got real  real at the boys school. I, for one, who is known to have a temper issue is not fixed to fuck around and break protocol. I follow directions, but I also follow what is in my heart and gut. My gut, my heart, and the principal told me to stay put and wait.

So I did.

And continued to wait...

After 15 minutes our appointment should have started, I left. Mind you, we got there at 3:30pm. Our appointment was at 3:45pm. I left at 4pm. At that point, we'd been waiting 30 minutes and had paged her twice.

I won't lie and say I was in the best mood, I was pleasant. But realistically, I had been waiting 30 minutes with two tired kids, and my uterus was being a bitch (but come on, who could blame her. She'd been poked and prodded like a slab of beef just a few hours earlier). So I so kindly let the school administrative assistant know that we were going home and that his teacher could call me to reschedule.

Guess who called me as I was parking my car in front of my apartment? Yep, his teacher. This woman had the nerve to ask me to turn back around because she was waiting on me. Excuse me?! Waiting on ME?!  I nicely informed her that we had been waiting for her for 30 minutes in the office and that she was the one who didn't show up. She replied with "well then why didn't you come to my classroom if you were on campus?" to which I told her because when it comes to the safety of my children and other children I FOLLOW PROTOCOL. Then!!!! She had the nerve to get ignant (yes, past the point of ignorant and indignant) with me and tell me I had wasted her time.

I had to stop a minute and pray to my Heavenly Father not to jump through the phone and smack the taste out of her mouth. Who does that?! And where?! No ma'am! This is not how I was raised.

I told her through gritted teeth that she would need to reschedule the conference with his father and told her to stay blessed and hung up. It was all I could do from breaking into a screaming rant.

Lawd jeezus, I am not the one! Why do some people feel like their time is more valuable?