By: Stephanie Reynolds
Pause for a moment and think about that phrase. What does it mean to you? Go ahead and answer out loud: “Always a Plan B means…”
It might be a foreign concept to you. You always fly by the seat of your pants. “Plan” is a four-letter word. Your plan can’t be ruined because you never made one to begin with. You are as flexible as water and as rooted as the wind. Nothing is a crisis until it is an actual crisis (but, regrettably, those tend to hit you hard).
Or it might terrify you because if you need a Plan B, that means your Plan A failed. It FAILED! And now what to do? Not only did your plan FAIL, but now YOU will FAIL because your plan, well, FAILED! You had one problem, which you solved elegantly with one solution, and now things are escalating quickly. Your high standards mean things are either perfect or terrible, and that is very stressful.
Or maybe you are halfway between the two. You are both a problem solver AND flexible. You might be the person who always has the tissue, the paper map, the extra candy. You love being prepared for every contingency. You make plans but hold them in an open hand. Each break of the plan, each hiccup, is part of the fun as you pivot faster than an Olympic ice skater.
Or, maybe, you are like most of us: Sometimes you can’t be bothered to plan, sometimes your plan is the ONLY plan, and sometimes you can handle interruptions with aplomb.
Summer is over and school (and football season) has started. We are coming into the busy holiday season with guests and traveling and presents and invitations and head colds and away games. If there was ever a time of year when having a Plan B could save your sanity, it is October through December.
But how do we do that (and why is that pertinent to tourism, Steph)?
It’s pertinent because I am right there with you. We have no fewer than 4 major events coming up between now and December. It’s pertinent because I’m in tourism, and I want to help you with your guests! It’s pertinent because y’all are my people and I want you to have a wonderful fall/winter filled with the true meaning of peace and the profoundness of the Christ-mas season. I want joy and rest for you (and me!).
So, my amazing neighbor, what are we going to do to make this upcoming season less stressful?
Today, this weekend, set aside time for you to sit with a favorite notebook, beverage, and a snack; give yourself an hour, and make a list of all the parties, budgets, guests, and expenses you expect. Write what you can do now for each. This little investment in time will take so much pressure off you.
For example, have a lasagna in the freezer for unexpected company. Have all the bedding washed now for extra guests later. Start buying presents now. Start exercising and eating well now (because we KNOW how December is a friend to our taste buds but an enemy to our waistlines). Start keeping your gas tank at ½ full now. Go now to buy medicine for the bug your household always gets this time of year. Get a calendar now and mark down every game. Contact teachers now and get every project scheduled so you
don’t have to make cupcakes at 2 a.m. the morning of the class party (but keep a box of mix and a jar of icing in the cupboard just in case).
Then go that next step and come up with a Plan B for each: 2 sets of linens washed. Two boxes of cake mix and icing and disposable trays. Two pans of lasagna. Buy and wrap some extra gifts, label them with sticky notes by age and gender, and have them stashed somewhere for when people drop by with gifts for you (take the labels off before you give them the present though! No one will feel special by receiving a gift that says “Female, 45-60 years old”)!
Then come see me, especially if you are going to have out-of-town guests this year. Let’s come up with a plan for your guests, an itinerary for things to keep them entertained and the pressure off you.
We can do this, you and me! We can make this an amazing, stress-free season because we will always have a Plan B.
By: Stephanie Reyolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
