Because I Am Simple... And Hopelessly Old-Fashioned

This post confused and overwhelmed me. It also made me feel very behind and inadequate. Because my system for keeping my family organized??

Is an-ti-qua-ted. I'm talking circa 1992. Possibly even earlier. Mrs. Cunningham on Happy Days could've used my system. And let's be honest? System is kind of a high-falutin word for what I do.

Here's my system. Are you ready? Because you are going to have to concentrate hard to keep up. Ok. Here we go: I have a write on/wipe off board on the side of my fridge where I write down all the meals I've planned. Beside that is one of those list pads with a magnet on the back. When we need something or run out of something, whatever it is goes on that list. That is my meal-planning system.

You with me?

And as for my chore chart, when there are jobs to be done I grab a piece of notebook paper (from the drawer in the kitchen desk where I store notebook paper) and I write down each child's name and the chore they are assigned beside it. They know when they come in from school that, if there is a piece of paper there, they better see what they've been assigned and get to it. Nothing I assign them after school takes longer than 15 minutes. I am diplomatic and assign something to each child just to make sure no one feels put upon and overloaded. And because if I get the kids to do it, I don't have to!

I'm smart that way.

And as for who is where when? And scheduling? Well now this part gets a bit technical but that's only because my husband is super progressive and loves himself an app like nobody's business. I have a paper calendar. Yes. The kind you carry in your purse and write on. With an actual pen. That is how I keep up with where everyone is. My husband's schedule, on the other hand, is on this fancy calendar app that he has synched with my iPad (because yes I do have one of those) and whenever he makes plans or schedules a flight or whatever, I can look at the calendar and see what he's doing.

If-- that is-- I remember to check the calendar. There have been times in the past, I will admit, where we have had to have serious conversations about my not checking his super-fancy calendar. Because why does he bother to update it and synch it if I am not going to check it?

Why indeed? I am trying to do better about this. I think he would agree that I have been making an effort to be newfangled and not so trapped in the 50's with my pen and paper. But if the world suddenly lost power and all these machines ran out of juice? My world would rock on. That is something to consider.

I'm not trying to make fun of my husband or this blogger. I totally respect them and their embracing of technology. Sometimes I wish I could be more progressive. But I've admitted to myself a long time ago that that is just not going to happen. Because my system? It works. Stuff gets done. People get where they need to be. Meals get made and served and no one goes hungry. Life clicks along just fine. And we all know the adage about not fixing things that aren't broken. If you're like me then I invite you to embrace your backwardness. Own your disdain for technology. Don't apologize for that pen and paper. Stand with Mrs. Cunningham and be proud of who you are.

PS. I feel compelled to tell you, after all this confessing, that I wrote this post on my iPad. I've never done that before-- always using my old laptop for writing blog posts. So maybe I'm more progressive than I thought! Let's just go with that.