Today, I bought an 18-month planner for 2017. It's a soft faux leather with a marble pattern and 2017 in gold across the cover. There's a month-by-month calendars, space for day by day notes, and to do lists. It's perfect. I just finished putting all the important events into it for the rest of 2016, and now have two planners to use. What I'm saying is, I'm not very good at living in the present. The future is scary and unpredictable, but it seems less so with a plan. I have a timeline for the next five years at least- finish college, get married, buy a house, all the Big Milestones. Unfortunately, plans change pretty often. The natural entropy of the Universe means that no one can predict what will happen to them. Shit just kind of gets in the way. The childhood home you thought you'd live in until you moved out on your own suddenly isn't your home anymore. You grow apart from the friends you had in high school- the ones you thought would be around forever, because you go to different schools and have opposite schedules. That's the problem with being a planner. Sometimes you look so far into the future you forget about what's happening right in front of you.
Being a planner has its benefits though. We're always the one to remember sun screen and bug spray on hikes and vacations. We're the people you go to when you need a tampon, a snack, or a tissue, because you know we'll have extras with us somewhere. We're the people you call to help you pack for a vacation, because you can be sure we'll remember something you didn't. We're there for others. We help people. We help ourselves. We're the ones making the grocery lists with extras of everything "just in case". Does that sometimes mean food goes bad before it can be eaten? Sure, but it's a small price to pay for preparedness.
For the most part, I love being a planner because I don't know any different. I enjoy being the one people trust with arranging events because they know everything will be ready to go well in advance in case anything happens to set things back. Being prepared makes everything easier. However, I always try to remember to live in the moment sometimes too. Being spontaneous can be fun — but I can still be spontaneous if I bring extra sunscreen.
