Louise Carroll: Pet peevers not always aware they are being peevish

When I was director of the Ellwood Area Family Center I had a sign outside my office that said, "Don't sweat the small stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff."

I felt it was a fun way to say don't get upset over little things. I was going to share it in my random columns, but then it made me think about pet peeves that really are small stuff.

I like most words but one of the few I don't like is peeve. I just don't like the sound of it and the meaning of peevish is hard to please or having a bad temper and other meanings are hard to please and irritable, complaining and contrary. Who wants to be peevish?

Yet most of us, who don't think we are irritable or contrary, have pet peeves and that sounds like a peeve is something we cherish and take care of when really we shouldn't have peeves since they are small stuff.

Why make a pet of things that annoy us, and give it our time, affection and attention?

I've been thinking about my pet peeves, which is something that people do that annoys me. It may be making them very happy, but it irritates me but they couldn't care less about what I think so why is it important. It isn't. I don't need Captain Obvious to remind me, but recently in a restaurant, I was looking at a table in front of me and it was a mother and two teenage girls. Their heads were bowed, their hands were busy on their phones. They weren't looking at each other. Each was in a solitary world of faux communication. I'm annoyed. Yes, I know it isn't my business and I'm sweating the small stuff, but I feel better now that I got it off my chest.

I'm sure things I do are other folk's pet peeves.

When I was director of the Lawrence County Rape Crisis Center I had an efficient secretary. Many years later she came to visit me and told me that there were times when she thought she would scream because I would drive her to distraction. Her pet peeve was every time things went wrong, and in that business they go wrong all the time, I would say, "Oh, fiddle dee dee, tomorrow is another day," in the spirit of the indomitable Scarlet O'Hara.

"It was like running your nails down a blackboard," she told me.

I'm sure she's not the only person I have annoyed. If I annoy you, feel free to tell me. I can handle it. Of course, people telling me that I annoy them could end up being another of my pet peeves.

There is a whole website devoted to pet peeves and you are welcome to add yours. A lot of pet peeves have to do with driving – Drivers who don't use a turn signal, People who ignore yield signs. Drivers who won't turn right on red. Made-up car names that are not even real words.

Eating and drinking trigger a lot of pet peeves including – Couples who sit on the same side of the booth when there is no one on the other side. People who drink directly out of the milk/orange juice container. When a person makes a sucking noise with a straw when the cup becomes almost empty. When people take 20 napkins, use one, then throw them all away. People who don't use coasters.

As we go about doing our thing we could be annoying someone. Listed as pet peeves are things like – People who sit next to you on public transportation even when there are other seats available.

I would like to add to that one. Once on a returning flight from Jamaica, I was stopped before I got on the plane and my large purse was thoroughly searched by a very chatty official, who commented on almost everything I had jammed into it. As a result I was the last one to get on the crowded plane. I quickly found a seat but a very sweet looking little old lady who was on the aisle would not let me in. I said, "May I sit here?" She said, "No" and stared straight ahead. Frantically I'm going up the aisle looking for a seat and my mission friends are urging me. "Louise, sit down!"  Amid the chaos and confusion I finally found a seat, perhaps the last vacant seat. So my pet peeves include chatty officials, old ladies who won't let me sit down and friends who are not helping but continuing to tell me to sit down.

I guess I just can't help being peevish.