Keeping it Together

I turned the house upside down looking for my datebook, but to no avail. I even bought a new one in the hopes that the old one would turn up. And not even that tried and true method worked.

In the end, I resorted to copying everything down by hand, again, from my Google Calendar. It was a good reminder of all that is coming up, and there were more than a few things that would have "sprung up" on me that, really, I had known about well in advance. So, all in all, I count myself quite fortunate to have had this momentary lapse of responsibility.

Also, I would like to take a moment sing the praises of Google Calendar while I'm on the subject.

This service is nothing new, but it has saved me so much time and so many headaches. I can put things on the calendar, and my husband can access it at his office. Likewise, he can add events, conferences, or evening meetings. (When you have three kids, it can be surprising the things you forget to bring up because you get sucked into the parenting vortex.) Each calendar you add can be color coded so you can keep track at a glance. For instance, I know to look for green on my calendar, because those are things my husband has added -- and I can be reasonably sure he's forgotten to mention to me.

I input the preschool calendar for them each month, and it is shared with all the other preschool parents. So, instead of a separate calendar, it gets incorporated into mine. I also share my calendar with my in-laws so they don't miss any recitals, school programs, or sports games.

Just this year, Google added "Sports Calendars" which I think is a particular boon. By "subscribing" to individual sports teams, it adds the time and opponent of each game of their season. Now I can see when Notre Dame and the Steelers play and fully realize the implications of said games on weekend plans. I know, in advance, the days I can't dawdle talking to people after church and what afternoons are free for a hike on the Parkway. It certainly has cut down on my exasperation and eye rolling.

So, here's to me keeping it together (for the time being), new datebook tucked securely in my purse.