The Perfect Plan

Cardboard boxes are beginning to stack up in the hallway, in the kitchen, in the bedroom as we anticipate a move from Marana back to Oro Valley. Yes, I know. Another move, but we’ve thought it through carefully, looked at the pros and cons, consulted family and friends, sought divine guidance and listened for the Spirit’s input. The result is: Oro Valley, here we come.
Ah, but we have a new system for this move. We used to take a big felt pen and write on all the boxes locations and content. For instance, that big box in the corner, in previous moves, would have been labeled with a big felt marker: “Kitchen: pots and pans” All the moving team had to do is read the hand-written note and then put the box in the designated area. Simple. But not foolproof. That was what happened in previous moves, but this one will be different. New system! Foolproof process. I am color-coding every box. Brilliant. Each box will bear a sticker of a particular color….yellow sticker for Kitchen, red for Bedroom #1, green for Family Room. You get the idea. Now, all the movers have to do is match the color to the location and everything will work fine. No more illegible scribbling; now the simple process of color matching. But, smiled my friend, what if….my foolproof plan is in shambles. What if I get the only color-blind moving crew in Tucson or what if the color chart accidentally falls into the trash can or what if the colored stick-on label falls off the box…like that one over there?

Sometimes when you think you have the perfect plan, you don’t. Moving, it seems, requires a modest amount of patience, determination, and readable handwriting. I guess it never hurts to include humility, too. Now where did I put that big felt-tip marker?