You Can't Have It All

I did the one thing I have vowed, as a mother, to never, ever do: I left the house yesterday (gulp) under-prepared. What do I mean, exactly? I FORGOT TO PACK A SWEATER FOR ENZO and the meteorologists' predictions were less than accurate! In other words: IT WAS COLD OUTSIDE. I was beating myself up on the inside for not being prepared for this possibility. What's the big deal, you think? You must understand the depths to which my desire runs to have every-possible-thing-I-could possibly-need at hand (or at least in the car) ready at all times. I'm not exactly certain why I choose to obsess about this, of all things, but I am aware that I get this from my mom who was always prepared. Hungry? Got a runny nose? Weather take a sudden turn for the worse? Painful hangnail bothering you? No problem. Super-mom to the rescue. There's cookies in my handbag, tissues in the glove box, two spare sweaters and a rain coat in the trunk and nail clippers on my key chain. Seriously. This is how I grew up. It was comforting, actually but can I pull it off? I try. Believe me...I try. My attempts at perfection often leave me with a sore back from carrying more than I need, wasted time, and misplaced spare sunglasses. Thankfully we were amongst our "familiars" and my sister-in-law came to the rescue with a bigger-boy sweater borrowed from her son. Our newborn, Elliot fared much better. I made sure to stock his diaper bag well enough for various excursions from the beach to the tundra. Snow shoes included. I have been redeemed.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
- Albert Einstein