The Best Laid Plans?

    I am a planer and I love to make lists.  When I was single it worked well but with a marriage came a loving husband, three wonderful kids and  five schedules to keep on track it makes being organized hard at times.  My family of males have little respect for the simple pleasures of sticking to a plan.  I can't count the times I have heard “I have not thought that far ahead.”.
    So how do your keep your family on track without being pushy?  First I like being pushy.  It is in my nature.  But I get to feeling badly about being so bossy and I want to be easier going.  So how does one keep their family on track?
    Be diplomatic!  Being diplomatic is a great start.  It is a great way to give your family the much needed choices that may be lacking when you are too pushy.  I like to ask the questions, what are your goals for the week  or weekend?  Do you want to do something special?  If you ask this question to kids be prepared to hear a lot of options that may be out of your price range or time limit.  You obviously can not go to Disney Land in a weekend if you live in Michigan and your budget is only a hundred dollars.  But you may be able to go for a walk or to the park. 
    The other factor is my husband who is an owner operator and sometime his choices are made for him.  If he has something brake on his truck he needs to fix it or he will be out of a job.  This happens far more then I would like. If things are working well we have the problem of not wanting to do the same things.  So this is where diplomacy comes in handy.  A little bit of what I want to do and little bit of what they want to do.  It may be hard at times but we work it out.
    After we make the plans how do we keep them? Well I like to rule with and iron fist.  Ha ha, I am just joking.  There doses have to be a curtain amount of leeway in a plan in this house but for the most part we stick to the plan when everyone is willing to do their part.  We try not to make too many plans because that is always a recipe for disaster.  You just end up being tired and disappointed.  Where did the day go, is such a disappointing thing to hear at the end of a week or weekend full of promise.  So if we can be in agreement our plans are rock solid and we feel accomplished and happy in the end.