Wingin' it doesn't work anymore...

Schedules? We don't need no stinkin' schedules!

Ah, but we do.

I've been looking at my schedule the last few days and I had a panic attack moment when I realized that the freedom to "jet off wherever and whenever I wanted" isn't exactly as free as I once thought it was.

I'm scheduled until March 2014, and those are just the commitments I know about. How do I know this? Because I had to get an online calendar put together so that my family could keep track of me. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.


I've posted the month of September, and this is a pretty good indicator of how the next two years (at least) is going to go

Each type of event has a different color, air travel is marked and flight information is plugged in. There is a period of three weeks I'll rack up frequent flyer miles from 12 flights and I'll hit up places like Chicago, St. Louis, and Corpus Christi in one trip. The next trip takes me to Memphis, Cincinnati, and Nashville. And, there's a quick run to Minneapolis that lasts about 16 hours, because missing a softball tournament is non-negotiable.

Being an adult is a lot harder than I anticipated, and being a professional with responsibilities kind of blind-sided me. So, the days of writing things down on my hand or a bar napkin are gone. I can no longer jot things down on a mirror in lipstick, or stick post-it notes to the rearview mirror to keep from forgetting important appointments, trips, or fun.

The days of wingin' it are long gone.