the best laid plans…
Jerome and I had been talking about a road trip for several months now, that we were going to take during our Christmas break. We were going to drive to Texas and back; visit San Antonio, the Alamo and probably go through New Orleans on our way back up to Michigan. No solid plans were made and maybe that was our first mistake. If no solid plans are made, then you are opening yourself up for changes.
First change was “when” we were going to leave. Our preliminary talks were that we were going to leave on December 20th and be gone for the whole 2 weeks. Then Jerome was mentioning that he’d like to have some time to relax before and after the trip, so that we could do just that; relax. So the trip became shorter and then the idea of having another “Holiday Drinks” party at the house came to be. We started planning that for Saturday, December 20 and then we would leave on Monday, the 22nd.
Then came an invitation to a company Christmas party at one of the mold suppliers that Jerome works with. That party was during the day on Tuesday, December 23rd. OK, we’ll leave on the 24th…Christmas Eve.
We had already mentioned this plan to both of my sisters-in-law – but we failed to mention it to anyone else. My sister-in-law Chris was visiting my parents – something that she started doing when she started back to work – she goes once a week, very nice – anyway, Chris and my mother were talking about the Christmas Eve plans when Chris said “well, Jerome and Yvonne will be out of town at that time…”. My mother was startled and immediately picked up the phone to verify. I answered and confirmed that the idea is out there, but no definite plans yet. My mother was noticeably disappointed. So, the plan changed again to be to leave on Christmas day and we would only be gone for a week or so.
A few days later my son Justin called to say he was “sworn in” and that all he would like for Christmas is to come home for a visit before he goes off to Basic Training. He hadn’t been “home” in 3 years, so…
OK – plans completely changed now. If Justin comes home for a week right in the middle of our holiday time off – we won’t be able to go on our trip. OK, fine. We have plenty of stuff to keep us busy here at home and the rest of the time we can relax instead of always being on the go.
Maybe next time we’ll come up with solid plans.
First change was “when” we were going to leave. Our preliminary talks were that we were going to leave on December 20th and be gone for the whole 2 weeks. Then Jerome was mentioning that he’d like to have some time to relax before and after the trip, so that we could do just that; relax. So the trip became shorter and then the idea of having another “Holiday Drinks” party at the house came to be. We started planning that for Saturday, December 20 and then we would leave on Monday, the 22nd.
Then came an invitation to a company Christmas party at one of the mold suppliers that Jerome works with. That party was during the day on Tuesday, December 23rd. OK, we’ll leave on the 24th…Christmas Eve.
We had already mentioned this plan to both of my sisters-in-law – but we failed to mention it to anyone else. My sister-in-law Chris was visiting my parents – something that she started doing when she started back to work – she goes once a week, very nice – anyway, Chris and my mother were talking about the Christmas Eve plans when Chris said “well, Jerome and Yvonne will be out of town at that time…”. My mother was startled and immediately picked up the phone to verify. I answered and confirmed that the idea is out there, but no definite plans yet. My mother was noticeably disappointed. So, the plan changed again to be to leave on Christmas day and we would only be gone for a week or so.
A few days later my son Justin called to say he was “sworn in” and that all he would like for Christmas is to come home for a visit before he goes off to Basic Training. He hadn’t been “home” in 3 years, so…
OK – plans completely changed now. If Justin comes home for a week right in the middle of our holiday time off – we won’t be able to go on our trip. OK, fine. We have plenty of stuff to keep us busy here at home and the rest of the time we can relax instead of always being on the go.
Maybe next time we’ll come up with solid plans.
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