Operation New York

Pay close attention, this is a precision operation.

When I first started traveling, ages ago for a job (back when I was still in corporate America) I used to be the queen of the list. I had lists for everything from the care of my dog during my absence to the care of my house. I had charts, timelines, and if I’d known how to use it in, I likely would have created a PowerPoint presentation. A friend of mine who also happens to be an FBI agent said “You know Penny, this is not a covert operation, you’re going to Seattle, not North Korea…”

Still the lists persist; I guess old habits die hard. I am still the queen of list creation. Now, years later we have Google docs, List Magic. Let’s face it, 2010 is a list-makers dream come true.

For this trip I’m doing a little house swapping, my mother is going to stay in my house with a friend of hers, they both live in Belgium and her friend has never been to the US. The planning has been tricky. Well it didn’t have to be but mom decided to go price shopping for airline tickets, “I can get a better rate if I leave a week later,” my mother said enthusiastically.

“Mom, I leave then you arrive a few days later, remember? Someone has to take care of the dog while I’m gone.”

Yes, Cosmo is part of the house-sitting mom is doing.

“Oh,” she said disappointed. Let’s face it, mom loves a bargain.

So the planning continues.

My mother’s lists are different, yes she has them too (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree). Her lists consist of short email blurbs with requests:
Leave out the coffee maker

I need directions to Coronado

How much do I feed Cosmo?

I’ve asked her to save all of her requests to one list and send it to me in one email instead of this scattered list of requests (half of them I’ve lost, please don’t tell my mother). So I’m coming up with some additional options for her. I think we might try Google Docs, that way she can access it and add her ideas and needs anytime her little heart desires.
What a revelation.

Let’s see how this goes. It took mom a year to master email. This could get ugly.