My eyes popped open at the sound of my cat crying to be fed.
"What the...?," as I glanced at the clock. I had overslept by an hour. I had a plane to catch in less than two hours and I still needed to finish packing.
So much for having time for a leisurely cup of coffee while I wrote out my, now infamous, list of instructions to my husband in my absence.
You're probably thinking that I'm a control freak and I suppose you'd be right. But my husband really does need some extra guidance at times.
After all, we have two teenagers (one of whom is not driving yet) going in different directions, two busy law practices, and a new office we were hoping to close on in less than two weeks.
It was a lot to keep up with for even the most organized of parents.
My husband also has a history of . . . um . . . selective hearing and big picture thinking, sometimes at the expense of the little (yet important) details.
I once went out of town for a week when the kids were young and left Andrew a detailed list of instructions for each day. Get the kids to preschool by 9am, here's what to pack for their lunch, afternoon bus arrives home at 3:00pm, trash goes out Monday night, etc.
I arrived home late the following weekend and my 4 year old son hopped into bed bright and early the next morning. I ruffled his hair and it felt stiff. I asked him when was the last time he took a bath. Drew, as proud as can be, exclaimed that he hadn't taken a bath all week!
I turned to look at my husband who, wide-eyed with a sheepish expression, replied, "Holy Mackeral! That wasn't on the list!" (Seriously, I cannot make this stuff up in my house.)
I recently sent Andrew to the grocery store recently with a DETAILED list. I mean down to the brand, size, where to find such items, etc. I learned my lesson after the last time Andrew returned from the store saying the store was out of milk. Oh really, honey? Hmm. (They weren't by the way.)
I'm really not picking on my husband. He's a fabulous husband and father. Small household details are just not his thing.
In my line of work, details and organization matter which is good since those are my strengths.
For example, for clients with living trusts, it is important that we transfer all of their assets into their trust in order to avoid probate (a main reason that clients use a living trust in the first place). Even one mistitled asset can cost a family thousands of dollars and unnecessary time delays.
We pride ourselves in our office on having one of the best streamlined systems for implementing client's estate plans with minimal stress.
Details matter in my line of work and our team is really good at it.
I was gone five days this last trip which is a long time to go unsupervised in my home.
Fortunately everyone appeared to do fine in my absence.
And my son remembered to shower this time!
P.S. Please don't give my husband any flack on this post or else he'll never go to the store for me again. He's still getting ribbed by acquaintances about how he loads the dishwasher!
