Planning

Planning is fun, if you like juggling a million balls in the air while a dog nips at your ankles.

I met with a small group of women on Saturday to plan my future sister-in-law's wedding shower.  Originally planned for mid June, we decided to bump the date up to the end of April.  There's the dog, nipping at my heels.

I offered to do invitations.  I love thinking about theme and color and wording and images and clarity and everything that goes with that.  Throw the first ball up in the air.

Then we got talking about centerpieces.  We are doing a cooking theme, as she LOVES to be in the kitchen, tinkering with recipes.  I made the mistake of Googling "kitchen themed bridal showers."  Throw three more balls in the air as we decide what centerpieces, favors, etc. match the theme, but add the bridal party in with me to share the load (and maybe keep the dog occupied).

Food was decided that day, because with a bunch of women coming, a chicken and a pasta is really all you need.  Oh, and wine.  Lots of wine.  No more extra balls for this one!

As the conversation went on, more balls were tossed into the mix - gifts, desserts, games, prizes, timing - but no more people added to help out.  

Driving home, I fell asleep quickly. (If I am in the front seat of a car, I can fall asleep in about 45 seconds. Ask my husband. Drives him crazy.)  My mom, a seasoned planner/ball juggler herself, reminded me of all we had talked about, all we were trying to connect together, all those balls that were in the air.  I breathed a sigh of relief that, at least right now, the dog at my heels still has puppy teeth, and many of the balls in the air can be caught and juggled by everyone else.

I'm sure mid-April, when all those balls come crashing together and the dog loses its puppy teeth, the major rush will come.  Until then, I'll enjoy juggling just a few balls myself.