It seemed like a good idea three months ago—doesn’t it always? The kind of idea that feels manageable at first, then suddenly grows bigger and barrels toward you like D.C. rush-hour traffic. For me, that idea was planning a family vacation for eighteen people, complete with celebrating Gary’s 70th birthday and retirement. Balancing Structure and Flexibility When you’re responsible for organizing something this big, there’s a delicate balance: you need enough structure to guide people…
4 CommentsTag: big family
You are crazy, or so I have been told. People speak outright to me I’m crazy, or I hear them express my actions in reference to themselves. I could never do that, or I don’t know how you do that. My crazy has looked like this: having a large family traveling exorbitant distances to visit a group of people for a short time riding a long-distance Context matters, and the most significant factor in our…
3 CommentsWhen my children were young, we had a very generous neighbor who gave each of our NINE children bookstore gift cards at Christmas. We were booklovers, and the gift was a generous $25 per person. This was pre-Amazon. Shopping for the selection and purchase meant going in-person to the bookstore. I don’t recall why I felt the rush to go while the Christmas holidays were still in full swing. Likely I knew that the longer…
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