When I was 40, I had the great blessing of becoming Grandma Debbie. At the time I was still raising my own kids. My daughters Jae and Robyn were only seven and four when Kirstie, my first granddaughter, was born. But having almost overlapping families added to the fun! As of October 2012, Dave and I have been blessed with 14 grandkids. They are ~ Kirstie(1994) ~ Nic(1994) ~ Kyle(1996) ~ Christopher(1999) ~ Josh(1999) ~ Ethan(2005) ~ Owen(2007) ~ Shelby(2009) ~ Jaxon(2009) ~ Ezekiel(2010) ~ Braden(2010)~ MacKenzie(2012)~ Quinn(2012)~ Cannon(2012) We’re pretty sure there will be a few more. Jae & Sean are just getting started and Robyn & Andrew are biding their time. Another blessing ~ I get to spend a lot of time with my grandkids. Most live in my hometown and the others are just a few hours away. I’d like to share my adventures as Grandma Debbie here and maybe you can share your adventures, too. I’m always up for learning new ways to have fun with the kids!

Monday, January 7, 2013

One simple trick to getting there on time…

Habitual tardiness is discourteous and a terrible time waster (yours and other people’s).
I should know. As a young mom, I wasn't on time...ever. Over-tired, over-stressed, and under organized, I had no idea how long it took to get ready and then to actually get to where I was going—there were too many components to getting to…well, anywhere.
I’m going out on a limb here to guess that I’m not alone. Oh, not that I think it’s a very big club, but I know there are a few of us. See, I home schooled my kids (and a few grand kids) for seventeen years. It drove me nuts every time the workshop leader said, “Let’s give the stragglers another five minutes before we begin.” She rewarded the latecomers (the same ones every time), giving them no incentive for punctuality.
Long before my home school days, I learned that if I broke the getting-there into its component parts and then counted down from the arrival time, maybe I could save myself some embarrassment and some time. {A late arrival to some appointments often meant a longer wait, or a reschedule.}
When I learned to count backward, my scrap paper looked something like this:

Appointment at 10:00
Drive time…15 min (9:45)
Extra traffic? Better add a five-minute cushion (9:40)
Get from the door to out of driveway…10 min (9:30)
Shower, dress myself… 15 min (9:15)
Get Steve’s clothes out…5 min (9:10)
Dress Amy…10 mins (9:00)
Bathe, dress, nurse Nick …30 mins (8:30)

I knew I’d better start getting ready no later than 8:30, and knowing me, starting at 8:20 was wise.
What most folks take as natural logic, I had to develop a system for. Oh, I was still late sometimes. Still am on occasion, but I’m usually on time, if not a little bit early.

That said, even after 35 years, my best friend, Jane, still arrives for our tea dates before me.

What gets you there on time?

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