Let’s say, you spend your entire Sunday night lesson planning for the following week. You have everything planned out, a schedule in place, all the supplies you need (you think), and you are feeling really good. Great, in fact, like this next week is going to be amazing. I mean just look at those pretty plans. You, my friend, are going to get so much done!
It’s Monday morning, you have kept your plans realistic, so you aren’t starting school at some crazy early hour like 9 am. No, you plan to gradually wake the children, let them come down to breakfast and get ready for the day {hahahaha}, and you have set an official start time of 10 am. So far things are going good, except for you forgot to plan breakfast, so the kids all decide on something different, bagels for one, cut fruit for another, one more wants cereal and the baby wants waffles (for every meal). Fine, since you want this week to go so well with attitudes and all you decide fine they can all eat what they choose for breakfast. Then we will start school at 10 am you tell them.
It’s now 9:40 am and you call up to the kids, “20 Minutes” then come on down to get started. That is when the fighting starts,
“She’s taking to long in the bathroom”,
“If he would quit bugging me I would have been done by now.”
“Uh Oh, Mom, I spilled juice all over the floor!
One of the girls remains quiet. You go to make sure she knows, only to discover she has gone back to bed! UGHHH!
You will not give up hope yet, after all you spent so much time and effort planning! You left some wiggle room, you do know your family, after all.
This can still work, will it really matter if you start school a few minutes late?
10:30 rolls around and you finally see all children in the same room. You have already started the 2nd grader on her morning book work, You have the baby occupied doing puzzles and the older boy has begun his copy work and is moving on to math. You are feeling pretty good. Then you realize you are still missing a child.
“Hmmm, where could she be, I know I woke her up TWICE!!”
You go up and check, sure enough she is still in bed!!
You ask her why? What made her so tired today? She informs you about how she stayed up so late reading. She begins to tell you all about the book she is in.
You decide to let it slide, since she was up reading. You let her know she has 20 minutes to begin her morning independent work or else!
Heading back downstairs you find that the 2nd grader instead of doing her math is now doing puzzles with the 3 year old. Fine, they are getting bonding time.
“I need to get this breakfast mess cleaned up!”
By the time you get much of the mess cleaned up it is now 11.
You get the 2nd grader back on task by having her read a simple picture book to her little brother while you listen and switch out the laundry (which you left off your wonderful plan!)
Finally!!! Ms. Sleepyhead is up! You make sure she gets started right away on her morning independent work.
Hmmm, where is the 8th grader. He is supposed to be doing his independent work.
You go find him, in his room, working. You think, “I wonder if he heard me coming, or if he was working the entire time?” You may never know!
Now you spend some time reading aloud a silly chapter book to the two younger kids until it is time to start lunch! YES!!! This was on the plan. You do a little WHOOP WHOOP, in your head of course.
You make an amazing lunch of macaroni and cheese with ham and broccoli. You know casserole style. At lunch you read a One Minute Mystery and discuss it while you are all eating. Ahem, also on the plan!
After lunch, you do a family quick clean. (Yep, on the plan, things are looking okay!)
After the clean you decide to do your family subjects; history reading and science experiments.
You read aloud a chapter from Sacagawea. Sometime during the reading that baby heads upstairs to play with toys. (mmmhmmm, plan!)
You all move around the table, ready for science. The kids begin reading while you gather the simple supplies needed. Like a paper cup, a rubber band, some index cards…
“Wait, who used all the paper cups? I bought those specifically for this science!”
You decide you can improvise with plastic disposable cups you find in the back of the pantry.
“Ok, your behinds are saved. I think these will work.”
Yea, NO, they don’t. They are much to big and they crack to easily when the pressure that you need to apply is applied.
“Fine! Do you guys understand what this experiment is trying to teach you? Do you see how this could have worked?”
They say they do. You hope they really do.
The baby has joined you sometime in all this. It is nearing 3 pm and you decide it is time for a break.
You begin to play outside with the kids. (not on the plan, but it’s okay!)
You hear a scream!
You go running in the house!
Your 8 year old is crying, you try to figure out what is wrong.
“What? Where did you get hurt? What is going on?”
Between sobs you get out of her that her butterfly cage with the butterflies she has been raising for the past 6 weeks was tipped over and it’s not looking good. (NOT ON THE PLAN!)
You run upstairs and sure enough, tipped and the feeder leaked everywhere. 4 of the 6 butterflies did not survive what is now known as the butterfly massacre.
The 3 year old comes and says “Whoops, sorry.” as you are cleaning up the mess. Ah ha, a confession. That’s what he was doing.
After cleaning out the cage, and letting the survivors know how sorry you are, you go back outside. Then the neighborhood kids begin to come out to play. You decide to head back in the house and switch that laundry again! (yes, on the plan!)
Your husband arrives home from work and wants to go to the store right then. You would love to go with him, so you do. (nope, not on the plan)
You head out to the one store in your small town, you look “real nice”. Real nice as in sweats and frizzy bun hair and no makeup. (betcha know what store I went to, huh?)
Of course, we run into someone he knows. (NOT ON THE PLAN!!) You try to act busy and hide. Not wanting to be seen. Then they acknowledge you.
“Hi! How are you doing?”
“Me, uummm, I’m good, just real busy!” bye now, you think.
You are done – hungry and just want to go home and hide under your covers of embarrassment.
Your husband gets what he was after and you head home.
You keep your menu plan flexible so you choose a quick and easy dinner for tonight from it.
While cooking your 3 year old has an accident, in his underwear. (NOT ON THE PLAN)
You get him upstairs, give him a quick shower and get him in pajamas. Then the smoke alarm goes off. You realize you forgot to turn the heat down on the stove. CRAP!!!
“Honey, let’s just go get something to eat.”
You go to your favorite little Mexican Restaurant and everything is great.
You come home and get everyone ready for bed and clean up from the dinner you cooked.
You get the kids in bed. Being quite sure to inform them not to read past 10pm.
You sit on the couch and think, what can I write that has to do with plans failing.
Hmmm.
You see I know nothing about plans not falling apart.
No matter how hard I try, life happens.
Something I have come to realize is that the less I plan, the better off our days actually are. The more we actually get done, or so it seems.
Click to read more stories about what happens “When Things Don’t Go As Planned”
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