Last minute craziness

Plans. We make them everyday in one form or fashion. Big plans and small plans. Things we want to get done today and what we want to do next weekend and how we want to accomplish our goals in life. They all involve planning. Some people plan out everything and others just fly by the seat of their pants. Most are probably somewhere in between the two extremes.

Jen and I are in the first category, we plan out everything. When Jen was growing up she decided that she wanted to be a speech pathologist and she made plans to accomplish that goal. She also knew what she wanted her wedding to look like, how many children she wanted, and that she wanted a red brick house. Plans were made and executed and her ideas came to fruition. Obviously it helped that her plans and goals lined up with God's plan for her life. One area where those two did not line up was me, her husband. Jen did not want to marry a police officer. To her credit, we married before I started that profession. So, I guess she gets a pass on that one. God's plan won, and I am very thankful for that.

Not only do we plan big things, we plan small as well. One area where these plans are not working out like I want them to is in leaving the house. Long before it is time to leave, we have a plan of what we need to get done before leaving. We, mostly Jen, get everything together that we will need to take with us. Most of the time the items are gathered on the kitchen table ready for us to grab as we walk out the door. Sometimes we even load them in the vehicle early, just so we do not have to grab them and the kids when we are ready to leave. If we are leaving around dinner time, we have an idea of when we need to wake Addy up from her nap in order to give her a little time to wake up. However, almost every time we leave the house, we are running around like chickens with our head's chopped off. It does not matter how well we plan or how much time we give ourselves. We always end up leaving the house in a rush. Time gets away from us. It creates a very stressful and frustrating situation. I always feel like I am forgetting something and on occasion have to run back in the house to get whatever I forgot. I usually spend the first few minutes of our drive to wherever taking a few deep breaths to calm down. Sounds like I am wound a little too tight.

I have wondered many times what causes us to lose track of time and freak out right when we are leaving. I question whether we had this problem before children. I imagine that we did a little bit, but I am sure the kids have added a new level. More people to get ready to get out the door and more things to take with us. Every now and then an unexpected issue or problem will spring up right before we leave. Those can not be planned for. We just try to adjust and roll with it.

I think that the main culprit for this stress is expectations. I know that Jen and I both have expectations of what we want to accomplish at home before we leave the house. Some of the time those expectations are probably not realistic. This is especially true in the evenings and on weekends. If something comes up that I was not planning for, I do not adjust my previous expectations. Then I have less time to get done what I wanted to get done.

How do people do it that are not planners? How do they have what they need when they are out? How do they get anywhere on time without a plan? I have no idea.

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