I'm on a roll now. About a month or so ago, my 3 yr old received via my email some party evites. Two of his pre-school class mates were turning 3 and having parties on the same day. The thought of two parties in one day made me just a little scared, or so I thought.
Later we discovered it's also birthday time for one of our new friends in LA. Her plan was cocktails on Friday, which we couldn't make, so Lynn organized that we'll all go off somewhere interesting on the Sunday. As Sunday gets closer, I'm mentioning the parties to Lynn and we realize that we're now double-booked. We felt bad, but the 3 yr old wins the day and we postpone our friend.
Sunday comes. 9am: I re-examine the evite to find the precise address of the first party. Address is fine, but the party was yesterday!! Oops, so I check the details on the other party.... also yesterday!
Lynn wrote the apology emails and I haven't looked to see what she called me - I don't think reading them would help my 'self image'. Have you noticed how LA is seeping into psyche? I did get one of the replies though, which said not to worry - she'd arrived a week too early to parties before.
At this point, I have 2 obvious options.
Option 1: Start saving for therapy for me and my boys.
Option 2: Move back to the UK and disguise any past 'difficulties' with bad weather and good beer.
Preliminary analysis of these options is not good. Option 1 requires a level of planning and forethought - an area where I have proved myself to be lacking. Option 2 has already been attempted for 21 years and didn't prove to be a suitable long term solution. [Note: In the UK aged 16 you can drink wine or beer with a meal in restaurants, so I'm not really as old as you might think...ahem.]
School starts on Thursday, so it's only going to get worse. I've already added to my calendar, 'School Spirit' days, vacation t-shirt day, 'Green and Gold' day, a coffee morning and something called 'Trunk or Treat'.
Anyone want to bet how many times my kids will miss an event or are wrongly dressed this school year?
What is the ultimate goal here? To get them out of the house. As an engineer, you know there are going to be some deviations along the critical path until you actually complete the project. So what if you miss an interim target by a day or two. As long as the overall time frame is met, a few bumps in the road won't hurt. As an MBA, you know you always have to fine tune a business plan, I don't see anything so far to be worried about. They can work out any psychological trauma once they are out of the house. And if you feel guilty, just share it. Make it their fault. They are already pre-scheduled for therapy, at least they will get their money's worth.
ReplyDeleteThe problem of course is that while contemporary children's calendars have become denser than ever, their technical capabilities haven't grown to match their social lives. The solution is for children to be born with calendar software pre-installed. That way when an e-vite comes in, if you as a parent approve it, you can simply sync it directly to your child's calendar. This eliminates inefficiencies and confusion caused by your having to keep track of the appointment manually. Your child will then sound an alarm one hour before the event. You can customize the alarm so it can be easily differentiated from the sounds the child makes when hungry, bored, or about to become airborne. Google is likely to be the first to launch; its "Googoo Calendar" is expected to be pre-installed in select newborns beginning early next year. Unfortunately, support for legacy children is likely to wait until after the initial 18-year beta phase.
ReplyDeleteThe good news, however, is you are eligible for an even better plan (Option 3, to use your numbering system): Since you and your family are fully human, even armed with Blackberries, you are entitled to screw some things up now and then. Congratulations!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to beat myself up for missing the ticket office today, then arriving at the Y forty-five minutes before lap swimming opened.
If you are using a computer calendar, you have evidence that it does not work well.
ReplyDeleteNow would be a good time to purchase one of the huge, tacky calendars sometimes seen on the refrigerator doors of homes with children. The date boxes need to be the largest you can find.
Nearby, but out of reach of children, place a cup with six or more working pens. You need to start with at least six pens so you can find one when needed.
I'm loving that I get more comments for posts that involve planning... or my lack of it. I think I should write a short note on my planning methodologies.
ReplyDeleteA Caledonian MacBrayne calender pinned to the hall wall (currently held together with a hair clip) with all relevant parties, school stuff etc written on with felt tip and highlighter pens is the solution. Cross referenced with notes held to the fridge with 'In the night garden magnets' you cannot fail.
ReplyDeleteAdd 2 year old daughter saying 'what is Tuesday?' and you have a flavour of the well oiled machine that it is our life...