It's been almost an entire year since my last blog post. Hard to believe, but at that point, I was excitedly helping my daughter look for her perfect wedding gown. Fast forward almost an entire year, through the wedding planning, showers, and "I do's", and my daughter is now a Newlywed!
Of course, I'm so proud of her and the gorgeous wedding she (almost single-handedly) planned and pulled off! It was really quite an incredible and perfect day!
She managed to plan the "biggest day of her life", while a full-time Nursing Student, and a Collegiate Golfer (Academic All-American for the 3rd year in a row)!
So, how is it she pulled all of this together, while I did not find a single moment of time (or inspiration) to post on my Blog? Didn't I make a commitment to MYSELF to blog more frequently, starting in January, 2012?
What was the difference between us??
1. She had a DEADLINE! The first thing to book was the wedding DATE! When Jacqueline & Ben decided on June 22 as their "big day", the deadline was established. Whether she/they were ready or not, time waits for nobody! The setting of the wedding date created the first most important step in creating a beautiful wedding!
2. She set a SCHEDULE! Jacqueline bought a couple of books for wedding planning, set up an on-line account, and developed a month-by-month, week-by-week schedule of WHEN certain things would have to be accomplished, if the wedding would be what she wanted.
3. She had a PARTNER! Yes, her Groom (now Husband) was her "buddy" in the process. Not only did this partnership keep Jacqueline on-track with the schedule, it also relieved part of the burden in knowing she had a HELPER, who had as much invested in the process as she did.
4. She TOOK ACTION! She didn't just sit around THINKING about what was to be done, and DREAMING of the 'big day", she made the phone calls, designed the invitations, ordered the dresses, set up the fittings, arranged the flowers, set a menu with the caterer....the list goes on and on!
5. She broke it up into SMALL PIECES! We've all heard the joke "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" With the demanding schedule of being a collegiate athlete in a demanding major, Jacqueline knew enough about the task of planning any huge event (especially her own wedding) would be a mountain to climb 'one step at a time'. So, instead of locking herself away for hours and hours and hours at a time, Jacqueline devoted 'chunks' of time to the planning process. This approach kept the excitement and energy level high for each task, instead of any one part becoming a burden.
6. She kept the END IN SIGHT! The vision of the perfect wedding day was a great motivator to staying on track. By keeping the focus on that magical moment when she would walk down the aisle to greet her groom, Jacqueline continued to concentrate on the WHY for each decision and action.
So, what lessons can I learn from my smart, focused and MARRIED 20-year-old daughter!
My end goal is to write my very first book. It is something I have dreamed about doing since before I even gave birth Jacqueline.
So, I will use all of those strategies that helped to plan such an incredible wedding day, and use them to take the necessary actions for getting that book to print!