Earlier today, I listened to a voicemail message from another attorney, who should have called me sooner, but waited until after I left my office. The message included excuses: “I have been really busy, I was in the office until eight o’clock last night (I could have called you at home, if you gave me the number), and I haven’t been able to call anyone back—I’m calling from my car right now, so busy am I!” Stuff like that.
And suddenly I remembered Marcus Aurelius:
From Alexander the Platonic, [I learned] not frequently nor without necessity to say to any one, or to write in a letter, that I have no leisure; nor continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by our relation to those with whom we live, by alleging urgent occupations.
That’s still good advice. If you are delayed, just apologize. Don’t make a production.
I was gonna write a comment for this post yesterday but I just got so busy at work and then I forgot and then I got home and briefly remembered that I wanted to write a comment but it soon thereafter slipped my mind again and I was doing yard work out back when I regained a fleeting memory of posting a comment about something on some blog or another but I couldn’t recall which or why and…long story short, I’m here now. That’s all.