As the youngest of three children, all of whom had crazily busy schedules growing up, my mom had a lot to keep track of. Between sports practices and games, endless doctor's appointments for her klutzy children, and sometimes having three kids all at different schools, there were, and still are, lots of times for her to remember. My mom has many strengths: she is a fantastic cook and loves to get involved with as many things as possible, just to name a few. But, being on time to things is unfortunately not one of them.

One of my friends once told me a trick she made up to calculate when her mother would actually arrive or be ready to go. Her trick was to just add a zero to whatever number she gives you. For example: if she says she'll be ready in 2 minutes, that actually means she'll be ready in 20. This trick has actually proved to be accurate more times than not.

Now, having a mother who thought it was acceptable to leave at 9:58 for a 10:00 appointment taught me many things and has definitely helped shape me into the person I am today. I appreciate people who are on time and pick me up when they say they will an incredible amount. I get extremely anxious and pace around if I'm waiting for someone to pick me up because I genuinely hate being tardy. Having to rush into a dance class or tennis lesson and scolded one many too many times will do that to you.

I don't like the repercussions of being late so I make sure I am always personally on time, or rather early for appointments. That's one of the best things about being able to drive myself, is I control when I get somewhere.

You may be wondering, so why is your mom always late? You may be thinking she does have a million things to do and there are never enough hours in the day to them. Well, this is partly true. The other half is that she loves to talk and it is nearly impossible to pull her away from a conversation. I used to be late to kindergarten because she was talking on the phone to one of her friends. True story.

At the end of the day though, I love my mom and am very grateful for all that she does for me. I wouldn't trade in anything about her, including her more-than fashionably late tendencies.