I like the idea of keeping "honesty equal to gentleness". That's a great maxim to live by just generally. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, most times I try to tell myself that. Sometimes, like today, it just gets hard to believe because it seems like such a simple thing to do. But I will definitely try and keep perspective.

Funny because I was actually considering implementing your suggested hard-ass solution today. I have a feeling though that it might create even more conflict. Have you had personal experience with it?

Thank you for your input! I was hoping someone who is always late would reply. Can I ask you, what happens in your mind? Obviously you are not intentionally disrespecting your friends and family, but for some reason it's beyond you to be on time in certain cases, which, in reality, is disrespecting your friends and…

It really is sad... when this is what you need to do with grown adults!

I try and keep that in mind. But sometimes, like today, after it's happened so often, it sometimes gets hard to understand how they can foul up something that seems so straightforward. But I do understand your point. Thank you for reminding me.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I wasn't sure what exactly it was that infuriated me so much, but it's most likely that feeling their time is more important than mine. I don't even register. Thanks for the script. It sounds way too reasonable to be effective in this case, but you've certainly given me something…

Oh yes, family, actually. It's been addressed variously over the years. I know they won't change, so I'm trying to figure out how to not get frustrated with them over it, it's not worth it, but I failed spectacularly just today.

How do you deal with people who are always late? It's extremely frustrating, resulting in, at best, me getting irritated, and at worst, plans being ruined regularly. There's always some lame, convoluted excuse. It's always something. I'm tired of hearing them. They're not going to change. How to deal with this?