Me: Hi. My name is Katie.
You: Hi, Katie.
Me: And I'm a procrastinator.
Here I go again...publicly revealing yet another flaw of mine.
Indeed, I consistently put things off until the last possible minute. Always have...probably always will despite my occasional but brief attempts at organization. There's too much evidence against me to even begin denying it...like finishing up J's scarf in the car on the way to take our Christmas photos or pulling an all-nighter to begin and finish a project the night before it's due or packing for a trip minutes before our planned departure time or wiping down the toilet with a Clorox wipe as expected guests are ringing our doorbell. No matter how organized I was, I'd still be doing this with a two and four-year-old in my house. No doubt about it. I could go on an on and so could my husband as my last minute antics drive him crazy. Ask him about my Sunday morning pre-church routine or lack thereof. You'll see for yourself.
Frankly, I don't really like spending days and days preparing for something. (Maybe this is why planning our wedding was an utterly painful process for me. I've already begun to outline all of the benefits of elopement and a simple tropical marriage ceremony to E. I really hope she's listening.) This drawn out approach actually increases my anxiety level. Plus, I seem to be much more efficient and effective when in a time crunch.
Because my level of motivation is so highly dependent upon a nearing deadline, I find it quite difficult to accomplish even the simplest task if a time frame is not involved. Although I may wait until absolutely necessary to start with the actual steps of accomplishing something, this doesn't mean I don't start tossing around some ideas about an upcoming event or task well in advance. Sometimes I even make a list. I love lists.
Anyway, with J's 5th birthday quickly approaching, I asked him what he had in mind for the big event. He first said Star Wars but then quickly changed his mind. He wants the theme to be storm chasing. I should of known. After all, this is the boy who frequently prays that Tornado Alley will go away. He also has an old out-of-service cell phone in the car so he can report any twisters to the National Weather Service. I nodded my head as the wheels started turning and said, "Maybe I could make you a tornado cake." He then asked, "Could it be an F5?"
So a tornado/storm chasing birthday it will be. That's all I've come up with so far. Oh, and I know that if we decide to actually have a party with any invited guests, the venue will not be our home. It's just not designed for entertaining (and I'm not really either). Although, our living quarters look as if they were in the direct path of destruction of an F5 tornado, so this might just add to the theme.
I'd love to tap into some one else's creativity as I am not above ripping off ideas. I'll give credit where credit is due. Promise! Feel free to share. After all, I'm already going to be up to the wee hours of the morning making his cake before the celebration, so I might as well have a few other projects to add to the last minute craziness.
