Aug 4 2008
It's all in the preparation
I love office supply stores. All the things to help you work and stay organized -- file folders, clips, envelopes, markers, pads, and pens. I also have a weakness for the cake decorating supplies aisle at the arts and craft store -- the character pans, the latest gadgets, the frosting colors, and the piping bag tips. And bookstores are the best -- tomes on writing and parenting, science fiction novels, cookbooks, children's classics, and rack after rack filled with magazines.
I adore doing anything that requires special equipment and oodles of accessories (except for camping that is -- a story I'll save for another day). Nevertheless, I have to force myself to stop thinking that the more stuff I have, the better I will perform, whether it's decorating a cake, or writing a press release.
Still I fall into this trap time after time, as recently as a few days ago. In anticipation of my next project, I got the book my mom and friends recommended. And I've begun researching the rest of it -- the doll, the pants, the chair. I'm reading countless reviews at Amazon to see what other parents recommend.
In the next few days, I'll place my order and begin gathering my supplies to tackle the next big project, an undertaking I'm not looking forward to. But it's time and it has to be done. Yes, I'm going to be potty training Lucie.
