Sense of Timing

For the last month, maybe two, our family has been in the midst of scheduling. Registration for next year for our first homeschooling co-op was due April 14. For our newest co-op, registration was due April 17. We registered Aaron for his community college Running Start classes May 27. And registration for classes at the homeschool resource center begins June 7. Coordinating classes and needs and driving schedules has been, well, a giant puzzle. My husband notes that I am good at puzzles; however, this type of puzzle cannot necessarily be solved.

All that is for classes that begin next year. Spring is also the time for many people to schedule their summer activities.

In the process of getting the word out about our Summer Musical Theatre Workshop, I've experienced how different people's sense of timing can be.

The workshop is in August, which is months away, but our deadline is June 7. For some people, when they found out in early May, their inner scheduler said, "Gotta get my whole summer planned right now!" For other people, their inner scheduler thinks, "It's not until August. Why are you telling me now?"

I'm telling you now because last year I waited until mid-June and a bunch of kids couldn't make it because their families had already made plans. The other reason is that it takes time to 1) figure out which script bests suits the group that signed up, 2) adjust the script and send it out for actors to study, 3) hold auditions and work out the complex puzzle of who should play whom, and 4) allow the actors to start memorizing before we begin rehearsals.

When my husband was a music director at a small church, he learned that you plan Christmas music in July. I used to want to just plan my day or my week. Especially when the kids were younger and did not have outside classes, we did lots of spontaneous stuff. However, now that I have to work with other people - the church calendar, my kids' activities, other people's need to know ahead of time - my sense of timing has had to stretch.