Thursday, June 4, 2009

Pet Peeves

This particular topic was suggested last night and I think it is an excellent one. I mean...who doesn't have things that absolutely send them over the edge? I mean, unless you are sitting on a mountaintop somewhere meditating...you are going to have pet peeves. Why, you ask? Because the vast majority of the pet peeves that people have involve...well...PEOPLE.

I noticed on Facebook that there is a group called "I Hate Stupid People." Really? I don't hate stupid people...because stupidity is relative. Case in point: Me learning to text. My kids couldn't understand why I had difficulty with this particular process. That was because I didn't understand how it all worked. That's ignorance...not stupidity...but the two are easily confused. A friend today was describing her son's inability to determine how to pay a bill that came in. He wasn't sure what amount to pay and how to make out the check. He's brilliant in school...in basic bill paying...not so much. Again...ignorance masking as stupidity...sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.

And then there are issues of "not being raised properly." In this category come such heinous offenses as failure to send a thank you note, wearing white shoes before Easter, and bringing store bought items to a covered dish supper. The people aren't stupid...they are just not indigenous to the South.

And, of course, there are those that do the things that irk us the most...getting on an elevator before it has emptied (thanks, Pam), asking us to fax something that they can pull up on the computer for themselves, extremely picky eaters, parking place stalkers, people who refuse to paint their crusty toenails but want to display them proudly, loud cologne/perfume, mullet wearers, tailgaters, food smackers, nose pickers, and those who are excessively nosy. Then we have loud talkers, close talkers, people that talk to you in the bathroom stall (thanks, Lynn), neat freaks, people who fail to replace the toilet paper, people who talk on their cell phone in a restaurant and people who always forget their money/wallet/debit card.

Oh, there are more...and if I didn't cover yours...you get the idea. These are the things that cause us to vent on our Facebook page, raise our blood pressure, and cause us to say words that just somehow make us feel better...until the three year old in our life makes it the "word of the day"...at church.

Anyway, my biggest pet peeve is stopping at a red light when there is no traffic coming. I just find it to be the biggest waste of my life imaginable. Second place: probate office for car tags. Third: waiting in a doctor's office. Yeah.

However, somehow I've realized over time that the things that drive me the craziest are often the most hilarious if I am in the mood to accept it that way. My kids can crack me up by doing something annoying to the other one...and the victim just looks at the aggressor and says "Really?"

I find that people often do things a certain way because that is how they cope or because they are old enough not to care that you might have something else to do. My grandmother used to take three hours to eat a meal. You'd finish...and then start preparing the next one. Me? I eat in 15 minutes. But I'd give anything to have one of those three hour breakfasts with her today.

Other times, they are totally unaware of how annoying they really are. Tonight, the bag boy at the grocery store spent ten minutes after he loaded my groceries in the trunk telling me why he wants a bull mastiff. This was annoying...but he is a nice kid...and it reminded me that sometimes I am so in love with my story de jour that I go on and on ad nauseum as well at times.

I find that the irritations in life serve two purposes: first of all, they make me grateful when there are no hassles...which in my opinion doesn't happen often enough...and secondly, they make me embarrasingly aware of how my actions can affect/annoy others.

I'll admit it...I like to chew gum. For some people...the sight of gum being smacked is enough to send them over the edge. So, I try to smack it in private.

I also am fairly politically opinionated. Most people are not informed and do not care. I find that irritating...but I'm sure that they find me irritating because I don't agree with them. So, see...it works both ways.

Anyway, as you go through your life tomorrow, I want you to smile when you are annoyed and just consider why the behavior might be occurring instead of just noting that it is occurring. Go wild with your imagination. Might as well laugh! Later!

No comments:

Post a Comment