Early is on time; on time is late. I’ve been a paragon of punctuality for years and have always valued others who take meeting times and deadlines as seriously as I do. When it comes to a potential suitor or long-term partner, I view being on time as not only important but essential to making the relationship work. Call me obsessive-compulsive, but punctuality is a major turn-on for me.
- Time is precious. One of the biggest criticisms of 21st-century Americans is that we’re always rushing to go nowhere and never take the time to stop and smell the roses. I’m not going to say that’s total crap, but like most millennials, I don’t have a hell of a lot of free time. If I do find a few spare minutes in my day, the last way I want to spend them is pacing around my room, waiting for my date to finally show up.
- No one likes to wait (unless they’re masochistic). Sure, there might be a handful of expired Glamour magazines to flip through, but no one actually enjoys their time in the waiting room. The same goes for my bedroom or living room when I’m waiting for a guy to pick me up or tell me to come over. I can only refresh my Instagram feed so many times.
- Being on time is respectful. When a guy is on time, it proves he’s considerate of your time and true to his word. I want to know I’m important enough to my partner that he’ll plan ahead in order to meet me when he says he will. He should value my time and want to spend as much of his with me as possible.
- Being late is embarrassing. Ever since middle school when I was introduced to class changes and bell schedules, I was horrified of being late and drawing attention to myself as I slipped into my desk after the bell rang. My guy may not be mortified by tardiness, but if we’re arriving late together, you can be damn sure I will be.
- Lateness is essentially a broken promise. I don’t mean to sound too dramatic here, but when you think about it, being late is as bad as breaking a promise. I understand things come up and being a couple of minutes late is alright, but if he promises to pick me up at 7 o’clock and doesn’t roll up until close to 8 o’clock, byeee!
- Punctuality reflects maturity. If he can make it on time to our dates, he’s likely always on time for professional engagements. He won’t waste time wrapping up the next level of whatever video game he’s playing or watching some stupid YouTube video. He clearly has his act together and I have a lot of respect for that.
- I promise I took longer to prepare for our date than he did. I’m a girl and I have hair to wash and style, legs to shave, eyelashes to curl, and 17 outfits to try on before I settle on the right one. I know it takes me forever to get ready for a date so I plan accordingly. If all a guy has to do is hop in the shower and throw on whatever article of clothing isn’t in the hamper or on the floor, he has no excuse for being late.
- Hanger is real. You think the Hulk’s transformation is scary? You should see me when I’m hangry. If my guy and I have dinner plans, odds are I’ve done my best to refrain from snacking all day in order to make room for the breadsticks or tortilla chips or whatever meal awaits us. Show up later than planned and I’ll probably bite his head off.
- I’ll be damned if I miss the first 15 minutes of the movie. I don’t care who’s paying. Why buy tickets to a movie you won’t watch in its entirety? The same goes for plays, concerts, open mic nights, whatever. If we’ve made plans to attend an event, we’ll get there when at least 10 minutes before it starts.
- If he won’t be on time, he’d better give me a head’s up. This is another issue of respect. Yeah, I get that things come up and happen beyond his control. That’s fine every now and then, but instead of fooling himself into believing that I won’t notice his tardiness (trust me, I will), he should take advantage of that 21st-century technology and send a girl a quick text.
- I’ve waited long enough for the start of this relationship. If I’m making time to pursue this relationship, it’s because I’ve wasted valuable time with dead-end or even non-relationships. If this is going somewhere, let’s get there, already—or at least be on time to the detours we make along the way.
