Timing Will Tell

​Over the past year, time has taken on a rhythm of its own. I still grapple as I measure it against prior years.
​What we are forced "to-not-do", what we are trying "to-do", and when we are anticipating the freedom
"to-do-more", has slowed our personal and professional timelines and made us focus and measure
​each day, no longer by the minute or hour yet by the stats of the pandemic.
•
As the wedding and event season begins to pull out of the stalemate,
we are trying to recalibrate and anticipate returning to some version
of celebrating—deliberate in each step we take and
​taking the time to do it right and responsibly.

---

---

​Spring has sprung and with our events on the calendar from Memorial Day through the end of the year and into 2022, we are in full swing building out timelines for weddings, birthday celebrations and bar mitzvahs. We are anticipating that these will go on and with cautious optimism, we know that we’ll need to build in time as we near the day-of. This year we will need guest arriving earlier for temp check or signing in with vaccination cards or proof of 72-hour testing. We will take additional time to clean surfaces and moderate guest flow. We will anticipate later than normal RSVP and perhaps last-minute changes in guest seating should there be positive tests before arrival. Building in time on our timelines for uncertainty and unexpected change of plans will be essential. 

​In the current climate, all of our operations are taking more time! Communication responses between vendors and supplies, shipments and deliveries, fabrication, printing and general day-to-day operations. I think it’s safe to say that with so much of the workforce operating from home base with a steady stream of interruption in their workflow as well as with companies forced to downsize, we are challenged by a whole new set of obstacles in building out our event and remaining on schedule. 

---

My new time management mantra has become “plan FURTHER ahead”
​even in this state of uncertainty and actually because of it. 

This means building in more time as we work events not only in the planning and management stages but as we gear up during month-of, week-of and day-of.  Being realistic as we step into this season will allow us to be prepared for the unexpected.​ We are logging so much more time than in a normal start-up season in order to stay prepared and to guide our clients. It is daunting at times and certainly unsettling as longer work hours permeate the much need personal time to rest and create balance. There simply does not seem to be enough time these days. And on some level, I feel that no amount of time would make the current situation feel normal or the event folders feel in complete order. I grasp for more time each day anticipating that with time, I can make it feel like all is good in the world. 
 
The reality is that time will tell. And until it does, we can only show up daily, prepared to do the best we can in this environment, while remain flexible and open as we guide our clients through their events. Planning “further” ahead will aid in our preparedness, expanded timelines will allow us to run our events more realistically and working from our hearts will give us the drive and stamina to remain positive and see each event through to a happy and safe ending. 

May I live with compassion, with grace, with insight, with integrity, with love.
May I live each moment at a time,
​doing the next right thing, whatever that may be.

---