Today I arranged with my 17 year old daughter, who doesn’t live with me, to pick her up at 2pm and we’d go walk the dogs for an hour at a local nature reserve.

Just as I was getting into the car at 3 minutes to 2 (she doesn’t live far away) she called and asked if I could drop her off at a friends as she’d been invited out to lunch.

Not one mention of our earlier arrangement.

It really bugs me when people do this. Why make arrangements and then change them last minute? It’s as though my feelings don’t matter. Daughter is very good at this. But I guess hanging out with her mates is more preferable than hanging out with her 46 year old dad. I get that, and don’t mind.

It’s just the last minute change of plans that gets to me.

To make things worse she then called her mum from the car and told her that I would be picking her up later. This was before even asking me. A big assumption was made there that I’d be able to do that with no consideration to the fact that I might have plans.

I’d imagine that this would bug most people, but for me it leads to the same reaction each and every time. I end up being moody, and I have a go at the other person, in a nasty way, but then a minute later I’m nice as pie and agree to their change in plan.

I don’t mean to do this, and I think that those close to me have got use to this reaction now, but I really can’t help it. It’s as though my body language and volume of voice are on autopilot, reacting seconds before my brain has time to process the situation.

For years it caused a great many arguments with Maria. She’d call and ask if I fancied the 3 of us going out for dinner that evening, and I’d have a go at her because I’d already prepared a meal the night before and now it was going to waste. A few minutes later I’d call back and say it was a great idea, and we could have the meal I’d made the following night.

I don’t know why I do it, I just do.

Got to go pick daughter up now!