Hard work pays off over time, but procrastination always pays off now!
I love that saying. It has followed me for the better half of my life. When I was in school at Trinity Prep, we had massive amounts of summer reading. Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey, Canterbury Tales (which is 656 pages, by the way) … books of that nature. Usually no less than 3 books a summer. Come August 1st, just before the year was about to start up again, I’d usually start thinking I needed to start my reading… and then run to the closest store for some cliff’s notes.
For science fair projects I’d ALWAYS wait until the last minute. The conversation in my household would go something like this:
Me: “DAAAAAD! Can you help me with something!?”
Dad: “Sure, what is it?”
Me: “I need to do a science fair project… it’s due tomorrow.” (insert the face you would assume a father would make, here.)
Dale, AKA, MacGyver, would then scramble for an idea that would involve something in the garage (string, paint remover, Styrofoam, etc.) that we could whip up real fast to save his procrastinating daughter from failing her science class.
If I had a major exam to study for, I’d usually wait until the day before to REALLY get down and cram. I felt like I could concentrate better when under the stress of time.
In college, I actually wrote my entire Senior thesis in about 2 days. Most people spent the whole first part of the semester (if not before) hashing out ideas of what they would write about and the better part of the rest of the semester compiling the information, thoughts, research, etc., and MAYBE the final days leading up to the due date, reading and re-reading to ensure they have left nothing to chance. (I got an A on that paper, by the way… solidifying my spot on the Dean’s List my last and final semester in college. Boo-YA!)
There is a point to all of this… I, apparently, have a wedding to plan. I know who the groom is, I know who my bridesmaids are, I know what coast I want to get married on. Aside from that, I’ve got nothing. No date, no venue, no colors, no dress, no solid bridesmaid dress ideas, no long-time dream of what I’ve always envisioned for the day… planned down to the design on the cake cutter that would be JUST the absolute most perfect detail ever… Wait, there IS one thing I have given some serious thought to… the “no-play-list.” The list of songs, that if the DJ plays a single one of… I will rip his plug right out of his boomin’ speakers and fire him on the spot, no pay, no kidding. I am passionate about my no-play list.
I tell you that to tell you this… I am about as FAR from a “Bridezilla” as one can get right now. However, I have become addicted to that show on WE TV. (If you’ve never seen it, I HIGHLY suggest you watch it.) I cannot BELIEVE there are actually people out there like that. Anyhoo… I’m about to call WE and pitch a new show to them, BRIDESMAIDZILLAS.
The following is an actual email I received this past Wednesday from Molly (one of my bridesmaids) as she teamed with and copied Danielle, my Maid of Honor.
“To: The Beautiful Bride to Be:
I plan on being a low-maintenance, well-mannered, behaved, attentive, obedient, all star bridesmaid. With that being said, I feel that I can make this one little demand/request of you the bride.
Here she is: I want to know what is going on in the planning process!! Can you tell that I am just a little bit (my arms are spread out as far as they go to make the not-so-little gesture) excited????!! I can only fly across the country so many times a year so I am asking/pleading/begging that you keep me in the loop with a weekly account of what is happening. I would also suggest that you include your other bridesmaids and Lindy on this. Maybe it can be interactive! Or you can even make demands and give us little jobs or chores to do.
I am going to go on a limb and say that this will trump the Friday email until you are officially Mrs. Ashley Clarke. The masses can wait for the Friday email, I cannot wait for the details of the Burton-Clarke nuptials. I have included a sample of what a possible weekly wedding update might consist of:
Week of Feb. 16th
Looking into venues, top contenders are:
The Don Juan (or whatever it is called)
The Hyatt Clearwater (because Hyatts have been a theme in other 321 weddings, but that’s not the point)
Four Seasons, etc.
My favorite so far is the (you fill in blank here)..because it is (adjective, adjective, adjective) Rich likes the (enter hotel here)
I am planning on looking at dresses (enter date here) I found several that I like during my work day while I thumb through (enter bridal magazine here) they are (enter brand here and style number)
Bridesmaid job for this week: check reviews of all hotels and report back.
You can format however you like. Just a few kibbles here and there would really make my day. It doesn’t need to be lengthy. I’m not really demanding……….well more like asking super super nicely.
Most Respectfully,
Over Zelous Bridesmaid Molly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*SO there it is folks… I am being strong armed by my bridesmaids to start acting like a bride and get this train moving… The Friday email has BEEN in a slow motion crawl since the start of 2010…. and will now come to a hault at the station for a bit longer. There will be things from time to time… but for now, I’ve got a wedding to plan. Stay tuned…. :-)
