My friend Carol called me in a panic from the grocery
store last year, less than a week before Christmas. All she could find were really large turkeys, there was none of the boxed stuffing mix she liked, and the fresh cranberries were sold out.
“What am I going to do? My son is bringing his girlfriend and wants everything to be traditional and perfect. I’ve never cooked a turkey that big. Can I even get it thawed in time? I’ve never made stuffing from scratch, and there are no cranberries!”
I helped her
calm down. She bought the smallest turkey she could find, though it was still 18 pounds. The turkey could be thawed in time, though it might involve placing it in cold water that had to be changed frequently. I told her she can always share the leftovers with her family members.
I told her to buy either bread, cornbread, or something to make cornbread from. I assured her that homemade stuffing was not all that hard and passed on a few easy recipes.
I reminded her to check the frozen foods, where she was able to find frozen cranberries.
Everything worked out just fine, but Carol fretted a lot beforehand, had to do some extra work, and found it hard
to release that stress even days later.
How much easier it would have been if she had thought ahead, planned her shopping better, and even had Plan B in the back of her
mind.
I remember seeing a great poster once that said, “Worry is not preparation.” Those words stuck with me. It is always good to have a Plan B and sometimes a Plan C in mind when you have a project.
Using Carol as an example, if she had thought a little ahead, she might have saved herself a lot of worries. She might have kept a list of things she always needed to buy for Christmas dinner.
She has a large freezer in the garage. She could have purchased the turkey sooner when the selection was good.
She knows she likes to use boxed stuffing, which could have been bought well ahead too.
Frozen cranberries in the freezer as a backup would have
saved some panic. A backup of canned or frozen peas, green beans, etc., would be helpful for the vegetables she planned to have. She could use them another time if she did not need them for her holiday meal.
Many situations in life can be less anxiety-provoking if we just have a plan ready in
case our first idea gets blindsided in some way.
Don’t set appointments too close together on the same day, in case the first one is late.
Don’t wait until the last minute to do things like pack for a trip or refill a prescription.
Things happen that get in the way.
Another poster I once saw said, “Always have Plans B, C, and D ready; you may need
them all.” That may be a little over the top, but maybe not. Having a backup plan, or two, makes sudden complications so much easier to deal with.
I called Carol today to be sure she is
planning ahead for Christmas dinner this year...today is December 4th, so today is a great day to begin making lists and doing some preliminary shopping.
She was grateful for the call and
the reminder. Her son and his girlfriend are now engaged, so I know she's going to want this meal to be special again.
