Meerkat Prompts: Betimes
Making use of Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day to inspire this prompt, let’s discuss betimes.
Betimes means to be early, or in good time. This suits me to the ground, because I am one of those people who always builds a fudge factor into every journey, and I firmly believe it’s better to do so. Since I rely on public transport making sure to allow for delays and cancellations is massively important. I don’t want to be late due to a bus or train problem, so I will often aim to be on an earlier bus or train. Bypassing the possibility of being late (which can easily happen if you aim to arrive ‘on time’) reduces my stress levels, and I think it looks good in the eyes of whomever I’m travelling to meet if I am arriving early, and am therefore relaxed.
I cannot stand last-minute mad dashes to make sure I am merely on time. Reaching my destination feeling anxious, hot and sweaty doesn’t create a good impression. In the past my family and I have gotten extremely lucky with connecting trains, having arrived somewhere with barely any time to spare.
I don’t know precisely where this trait has come from, though I suspect my dad is the reason. He too has a preference for reaching a destination with some time to spare. I know a few friends who embody this tendency too – and a few that don’t!
What about you, my dear meerkats? Do you aim to arrive on time, or early,
Chazers also rely on public transport in the local area, so are somewhat restricted by bus times which don’t always fit with our plans. Therefore we always have to plan to be anywhere early, in case the bus plays up. This usually happens in inverse proportion to our wish for a stress-free journey, naturally.