I had a brief conversation with someone recently and, like lots of things, it annoyed me (lots of things annoy me). The person was asking me what I was up to. When I listed what I was doing and the time I was doing it at (I said something like “I’m going home now because I’m going to be late for dinner, which I like to eat at 5pm”), she did a big grin and said, “It’s all about schedules with you!!!”
The reason this comment annoyed me was because it reminded me that lots of people play down a very serious matter. Note, this was all in my head, she hadn’t given me any true reason to think that she was playing it down. However, I do know that many people I’ve come across in the past have made similar remarks to me and it always ends up with a bit of banter and teasing by them, because they think my “like” of schedules and routines is a bit of a laughing matter.
I understand that people are trying to be friendly and affectionate with me, but I do sometimes wish that people took my “like” (which, if they took the time to find out more, they would realise is actually a ‘need’) of schedules and routines more seriously. Maybe I just wish that people took a bit more time to understand why schedules and routines are so important, so that they had more empathy, and then I wouldn’t mind the teasing so much. But so many people view schedules and routines as very superficial, flexible things… “It’s only a few minutes late, stop worrying!” or “Come on now, it’s good for you to do things outside your comfort zone sometimes!”
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