Preparing for the Weeks Ahead

My kids start school in twelve days. This means it is the ideal time for me to begin moving bedtimes and wake-up calls earlier. I should be organizing the house and sorting through clothes to see what got unwearably ratty during summer play. My kids need calmness and stability so they can enter the new school year with confidence and a good night’s rest.

I leave for Reno in three and a half days. There are dozens of things yet to accumulate and accomplish in order to meet the various needs of the trip. I must prepare everything so that the booth can earn enough money to pay for it all. I must plan and pack my clothing so that I can present a professional appearance while at the show. I also want to get to wear some of the fun things I own which don’t get aired otherwise. Howard needs all of his things prepared so that he can be Howard Tayler Cartoonist and participate in the Hugo Award Ceremony. The kids need to be prepared and packed so that they can spend 5 days with their grandparents. Those five days are bracketed by long road-trips. The last hours of road trip will end within thirty hours of the first hour of school.

There must be something I can do to make this Reno trip compatible with creating calmness and stability before school starts. Honestly, I haven’t had the time to figure it out. Instead I helped my teenage daughter light a fire in our firepit so that her friends could roast marshmallows. I helped the neighboring mother, who stopped by, to assemble smores for a dozen neighborhood children. Then I let my youngest two stay up past their bedtime playing night tag while I sat and visited with my neighbors. At the end there was a bit of a meltdown followed by a warm snack and a back rub. None of the things I did this evening seem to help any of the things which are coming up, except it feels like I made exactly the right choice for how to spend my time.

2 thoughts on “Preparing for the Weeks Ahead”

  1. that last little bit of freedom and fun can actually help with the transition, giving everyone, including yourself, a chamce tobenjoy yourselves freely and get rid of excess stress before cracking down to work on everything. I hope everybody transitions well from hereon out to make things as stress free as possible.

  2. I’ve forgotten which management training, time management, or whatever had this advice, but I have found it to be correct. Basically, they recommended making your lists (and lists of lists, if you’re like me) and using them most of the time to keep yourself organized, on-target, and moving forward.

    But they also said, “Sometimes, just tear them up, use them as confetti, and do what makes you happy.”

    And you know, having the lists most of the time does make it easier to just let go and do what makes you happy when the time is right. So — enjoy your break! Don’t worry, the lists will still be there when you’re done.

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