Planning bombs
to sweeten or sour your Spring celebrations
Talofa Friends,
The Spring weather has warmed and daylight now lasts until 8pm. It is such a glorious and appealing time! And the urge to gather has noticeably jumped. We all want to see and be with each other. I love the playfulness of this time of year. Aren’t you smiling, thinking about it??
With Easter near, my husband and I have a lot of fun plans with family and friends coming up to celebrate. Family brunch, a wine and cheese welcome party for international friends, birthday parties, vinyl night, and B’Easter (basically, an adult Easter “egg” hunt).
While all this is lots of fun, realistically, we can’t do it all if we want to actually have fun.
Possibilities are endless. Time and energy are finite. Choices must be made.
In the process of coordinating how we will use and enjoy our time to live and make memories, I’ve noticed a few things that can sweeten or sour plans, and I wanted to share those with you.
I’m calling these “planning bombs,” which can blow things up in good or not-so-good ways:
3 Planning Bombs
#1: Packing it in
When you’re looking at the upcoming weekend and you see that there are 2 or 3 or even 4 very fun and appealing things happening on the same day, and you think you can fit it all in… Can you?
It is possible to pack good things into too little time, making them feel not so good. But what’s the real measure? Sure, for me I can plan to spend 1 hour at this party, and then another hour or two at the next event, and another at the next… but will I be present for that time? In those cases, I usually feel pressed, trying to hide that I’m looking at my watch because I want to get to the next place on time. That all makes it so hard to enjoy where I am and who I’m with!
To sour: Say yes to everything because it pens out on a timeline.
To sweeten: Say no to one thing, to enjoy the rest more. It could mean saying no to an event or not doing something for an event. Space adds more life.
#2: Travel time
When you make plans to be somewhere to do that awesome thing, and then you realize, as you’re getting ready to leave, it’s a 1-hour drive away, instead of 30 minutes, and you need to stop to get gas…
This isn’t a problem when considered the day before, but if left to consideration too late, it can ramp up stress and gum up plans.
To sour: Leave travel time considerations to the day of.
To sweeten: Look up the route ahead of time and see what options you have. You may even find time to take the scenic route.
#3: Backing up meal prep
Banana pudding is never as good when made the same day as it is made the day before. Same goes for chili and any other dish that needs time to marinate. Like any good relationship, flavor takes time to get established. If you’re going through the effort to pick out a special new recipe and buy nice ingredients for a potluck or picnic, budget enough time for full flavor to be in attendance.
To sour: Make a slapdash version.
To sweeten: Read the recipe 3 times, 3 days before the event. You will feel all knowing and in charge, I promise.
May your Springtime celebrations be as sweet as can be!
Let me know in the comments what some of your planning bombs are.
I’d love to hear.
With Alofa,
Eva