{"id":5645,"date":"2010-12-24T01:07:17","date_gmt":"2010-12-24T08:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5645"},"modified":"2010-12-24T01:07:18","modified_gmt":"2010-12-24T08:07:18","slug":"christmas-the-un-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5645","title":{"rendered":"Christmas: the un-Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, here it is Christmas Eve, and it\u2019s the day for cooking up a feast, admiring the tree, and fighting exhaustion.<\/p>\n

Whaaaat???? Everything is Critical Path! \u00a0Where did all the slack go?<\/p>\n

It all started out a week after Thanksgiving\u2026 my mom and I had finally got our energy back from the cooking marathon that is Turkey Day.\u00a0 We\u2019re Greek, you know.\u00a0 Turkey Day includes Spanakopita, Dolmas, and Baklava.\u00a0 Oh yeah, there\u2019s a turkey too!<\/p>\n

Anyway, a week later, my mom and I sit at the table and start talking about what to cook for Christmas.\u00a0 \u201cEither Lamb or Roast Beef\u201d she says.\u00a0 What kind of vegetable?\u00a0 Potatoes or pasta?\u00a0 And on we discuss, with me making notes on a pad of scrap paper\u2026. It\u2019s my attempt at putting together a plan, a Work Breakdown Structure, if you will.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A day later, it\u2019s a Sunday; she says can you take me out? \u201cSure! Where are we going?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0I should have known\u2026 its tree shopping day!\u00a0 Now, my mom LOVES the smell of a fresh Christmas tree, and she grew up on the farm in Greece. It\u2019s very important that it should be fresh, perfectly shaped, and she should haggle for a deal! \u00a0Several hours later, we have\u00a0the perfect\u00a0tree tied to the roof of my car. \u00a0We haul it up the stairs, with constant reminders not to break any branches!\u00a0 There’s a look of elation on her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up the tree goes, and now to excavate the ornaments from the garage.\u00a0 As kids, our mom would sit in the recliner, and direct us to decorate the tree. Now as an adult, I know all too well who will act as Foreman on this construction site! \u00a0I remember all those Christmases as kids, when we used to compete each year to see who got the most presents, or who got to pass them out. \u00a0I learn not to care whether the gold snowflake ornament is placed on the top left branch or the lower right. Whereever it makes her happy\u2026.that\u2019s where it goes!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eventually, we finish, she cooks us dinner, and we go veg out in front of the TV.\u00a0 As I journey to slumberland, I realize I never got my Christmas cards written!\u00a0 Oh well, there\u2019s always tomorrow! \u00a0There\u2019s still time in my plan to make it happen!<\/p>\n

Over the next few weeks, I go shopping for gifts. I come home and show my mom what I bought for each person, and talk about what I still have left to buy.\u00a0 My mom says she\u2019s just going to put money in an envelope for each person and be done with it.\u00a0 Hah!\u00a0 I know better than that!<\/p>\n

Before I know it, I\u2019m sent on errands to buy this for my sister, and that for my nephew, and the other for my cousin\u2026. \u00a0\u201cI need to send a package to Greece. What are you doing today?\u201d\u00a0 Dare I say it? \u00a0\u201cgee, mom, I was going to relax and hang out today\u201d??\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0uh\u2026 no, I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0\u00a0 You know how it is with Greek (or Italian or Chinese or African American) moms. They only have to give you THE EYE!\u00a0 It\u2019s all over. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Whatever you thought was important, is now a total waste of time!\u00a0 Schedule? What Schedule?\u00a0 Nothing is more important than taking care of mama!<\/p>\n

So, of course, off I go to the post office, the mall, the supermarket, the dry cleaners, and where ever else she needs me to go. \u00a0She is, after all, the all important Stakeholder of the house!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As we get closer to Christmas day, and my shopping focuses more on the grocery store, I start thinking about wrapping the gifts. As I start wrapping my own, all of a sudden the pile of gifts grows, like the Magi just showed up and dropped their packages in my lap!\u00a0 Guess what? My mom needed my wrapping services!\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, well, what are a few more boxes?\u00a0 I\u2019ll just have to go get a little more ribbon, no big deal, right?\u00a0 I\u2019ll just stay up a little later tonight and get it all done.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just adjust my plan.<\/p>\n

Finally, it\u2019s Christmas Eve, and my mom and I are in the kitchen prepping the food for tomorrow\u2019s feast!\u00a0 She\u2019s making the Baklava and Honey Cookies. All the spinach is washed and trimmed, ready for the pan.\u00a0 The gigantic Roast Beef is thawing in the fridge.\u00a0 I\u2019m adding more leaves to the dining table, and setting it. I plan what bowls and platters to use for which dishes. I label each dish with the food that will go in it, and each place setting with the person who will sit there. I think of everything I can do proactively to prepare for the next day.\u00a0 I convince my mom the baklava won\u2019t go stale if we pre-pack it for each of our guests to take home with them.\u00a0 She wanted to wait and pack it after Christmas Dinner so it would be fresher.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As always, I have to make a supermarket run, even though I asked her yesterday if she needed anything at the store. \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s OK, I needed some air anyway.\u00a0 She says to hurry up and come back, but I know I\u2019ll conveniently forget to look at my watch.\u00a0 We got to this point without worrying about sticking to a project plan, why start now?\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

We finish our day\u2019s tasks, and fall into bed, exhausted from the day\u2019s preparations, but anxiously awaiting Christmas morning.\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

The morning will bring the final tasks to a close, our family and friends will arrive, the tree will be beautiful, the food will taste and smell spectacular.\u00a0 By mid-morning, my mom and I are running things like a well-oiled machine.\u00a0 The roast is in the oven, the veggies are cleaned, chopped, and prepped for cooking. The Spanakopita is a lovely golden brown, and waiting to be plated.\u00a0 By 2pm, everything is on time, on target, and (ahem!) on plan!\u00a0<\/p>\n

We take an hour nap as a reward for our hard work of the last few days, and to renew our energies.\u00a0 Soon the doorbell rings, and my sister comes with the kids; then the neighbors. Soon, the house is a warm, aromatic, noisy, home full of Christmas Love!\u00a0 The lights are twinkling; the kids are running around, the adults are sneaking bites of food as it comes out of the oven.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to sit at the table, surrounded by family and loved ones, admiring the table full of our labor of love.\u00a0 All of a sudden, it doesn\u2019t matter that we didn\u2019t stick to a plan, or that my schedule was ignored, or that surprise tasks and scope creep happened.\u00a0 All that matters is that the most important Stakeholder of this project was happy and satisfied. Christmas is my mom\u2019s holiday. We got it the way she wanted it, the way she always made it for us, the way we will always want it\u2026 not so well-planned, but executed with a lot of love!\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy Healthy New Year everyone!<\/span><\/p>\n

Opa!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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