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My Top Three Pet Peeves

It is defined as “something that a particular person finds especially annoying.” I have plenty of those but I’ll try to stick to three that I find not only annoying but wants to make me pull my hair out!

Not being punctual is one of them. This is one of the top “pet peeves” because as a person who believes that being punctual speaks to your character, I seem to be surrounded by people who don’t give a hoot about being punctual. My first reaction is extreme annoyance, the second is to reel it in and to let it go. However, the letting go part doesn’t always work. It just gives the person more leeway to keep on doing what they do. Now, I give a few chances and then I pull the plug. Meaning it is a friendship lost instead of putting up with someone else’s tardiness.

Next on the list are liars. I can put up with one or two lies but when it is a constant and it is very evident, it becomes a pet peeve of mine. I’ve met people who make “lying” their motto and if they can get away with it, so much the better. However, once in a while they come across someone like me who can spot a liar even before they get close! My problem is, I give them enough rope to hang themselves but then I go back and take it away! Does that make sense? It does to me. Instead of sending them on the way, I play this “nice person” and try to find out why they are the way they are. No more playing “nice guy,” I am learning to be more assertive and to understand that you can’t change people. They are the way they are.

Last but not least are fake friends. People who claim to be your friend but are never there when you need them. They are there for the good times and are invisible when times get tough. I’m sure you’ve met them too. These days, I look for the “I’m with you all the way,” kind of friendship. Friendship is a hard thing to maneuver but it is made harder still when you come across fake friends. Choose carefully.

Those are three of my top pet peeves. I have plenty more but for now, these three take the cake!

Daily writing prompt

Name your top three pet peeves.

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All Fogged Up!

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

I woke up this morning all ready to go walking until I looked outside and saw the fog. It was pea soup thick and the fields seemed to be covered in it. Should I? Go walking that is. I decided to do it anyway.

Perhaps I will get a new perspective I thought. So it was on with the shoes, steady ones that could weather the mud that must be surely out there after two days of rain. I wasn’t wrong about that. As I stepped on the fields, they looked somber with just the cawing of the crows for company. This morning, however, they were loud and raucous! I paid them no mind as I kept walking on the familiar path heading towards the apple trees. The mountains were nowhere to be seen. They were hidden behind a thick veil of fog. However, I knew they were there silently watching.

Fall was in the air. The air was crisp and colder than a few days ago. The trees were still green but it was just a matter of time before the colors would show up. Brilliant oranges, deep dark reds and sunshiny yellows, all heralding a new season moving in, one to my liking. I pulled the sweat jacket closer around me as I approached the hill. Then I saw him. He had his trusted dog with him. It looked like a pit bull but I’m not sure. I’m not into dogs.

I had seen him many times before, always alone and always staring. I don’t really know him but I had seen him a long time ago when my son was in kindergarten and I would drop him off. This guy was always sitting in his car and staring. The stare seems to be a part of his DNA. Anyway, we never exchanged words but sometimes I would think, “Creep!”

Recently he has a big smile on his face when he sees me. Why? I don’t know. Last Friday we crossed paths again. He was coming out of the forest line and I was heading home. We stopped at the junction and there it was this huge smile plastered on his face! I heard something click! What? I don’t know. His blue gray eyes were huge and the whites perfectly white. I thought, “Definitely not a druggie and not a drunk either!” He didn’t look that bad, some might even call nice-looking. Dark hair with a beard to boot. Maybe the Ted Bundy type?!! Anyway, we both stopped, stared at each other and then I said, “hello” and skirted around him. What was that about? I don’t know!

There he was again this morning, his dog on the leash and staring in my direction. He didn’t take his eyes off me. As we approached each other, he gave me this “deep” look and then a smile came on like a neon light! I said, “Good morning” and he said the same and we went our separate ways like “two ships passing in the night” or rather in the morning fogged up light!

What was that click I heard? Perhaps, a twig breaking or my overactive imagination playing tricks on me. Why does he keep staring? Anyway, I’m back home and wondering if I would see him again.

Oh well, maybe it was nothing but who knows. Life plays its own choreography and I am but a tiny pawn in the grand scheme of things.

Have an amazing day.

Pet Peeves

I have them and I’m sure you have them too. A pet peeve is defined as, “something that a particular person finds especially annoying,” and or is a thing that bugs you every time.

Everybody has one or several pet peeves. Let’s look at some of them.

“I have some road rage inside of me. Traffic, especially in LA., is a pet peeve of mine.” Kathie Holmes

“I don’t have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation.” Whoopi Goldberg

“My biggest pet peeve is inconsiderate people.” Trista Sutter

It is most definitely mine too!

“My pet peeve is hearing a knock on the bathroom door followed by the familiar words, “What are you doing in there?” Karen Scalf Linamen

Just some pet peeves that people find highly annoying. Sometimes that annoying thing we do makes people want to grit their teeth and pull their hair out but the problem is it goes totally unnoticed by the person doing it. They’ve grown accustomed to the annoying things they do that it is a daily way of existence for them and that in itself is the problem. Pet peeves to some may not be the same to others at the other end of the spectrum.

What are some of my pet peeves? I have spent some time thinking about this. Why? Who knows why. I think about things all the time. Perhaps, it’s because I’m a thinker. Anyway, here goes.

The Liar —can’t stand them and can’t tolerate them. They exist in droves and some have made it their life’s work to get away with lies. Let’s see how many lies I can get away with is their mantra. Telling lies is a way of life and the adrenaline rush that follows is what they live for. I am pretty good at spotting lies and liars but it still bugs me to no end.

Tardiness –someone who always shows up late and keeps you waiting for them. I tend to attract these types. Why? No idea, it could be that I’m punctual to a fault and rubbing me up the wrong way is the name of the game. I have a friend who is the complete opposite and she has a big sign plastered on her forehead which says, “Tardy and loving it!” Just kidding but she does make me grit my teeth because meeting up is never fun when she makes it a point to show up 15 to 20 minutes late and the last time, it was 45 minutes! Get rid of her? Believe me, I’ve given it much thought but learning that not everyone is like me. Give it some time, I say.

The Busy Body – Experts say, “what drives someone to become a busybody is an avoidance of their own issues, found deep within their inner psychology. And it doesn’t matter if they’re pointing out something small, like the dog droppings or something bigger. The busybody can really drive you to drink, or point out the drink.” There you have it, an experts viewpoint and I totally agree. Ever had someone poking their nose into everything you do? I have and it is more than annoying. At times I want to scream, “Get a life will you!” More often than not, the friendship fizzles out because dealing with such a person is not only annoying but very very stressful. Or it could be that I’m a Scorpio and we have an aversion to busy bodies. It is supposed to be one of our pet peeves according to the following quote.

“When people can’t mind their own business and always concerned with what you’re doing.” Unknown

There you have it. Three of my pet peeves but I’m sure if I dug deep enough, I can come up with more but it’s Sunday and I’m turning off the switch, the thinking switch that is. Going blank for the rest of the day. Good luck you say, I know what you mean.

Have a great Sunday.