Alder's Tone

The only one of these three categories we fit into right now is that there is no absolute, so it's not a Y2K. It is sort of mandatory as in it's going to happen and we can't stop it now, but we don't know if the deadline will be met or not. We could be early, we could be late. So it doesn't seem to fit like a project's deadline at all, does it? Apart from all the things that need to be done, the boxes that have to be ticked, the preparation, the actual implementation (albeit with no backout plan!), there are synergies in all but the deadline.

So what about some of those boxes that need to be ticked? What are they? Let's look at some of them shall we?

• Big ticket items bought: N/R, have them from last time.
• Nursery decorated: N/R, number 1 has done it already, adding his own flair and style to the Pooh border and the nice mural he's done in crayon.
• Small ticket items bought: Tick. A few additions, a few replacements, a few loads through the dishwasher.
• Cute clothes ready: No tick yet. They are in storage still, clean and protected, but will go through the machine again nearer the time.
• Cot ready: No tick yet. Still on lowest setting, needs raising, needs clean bedding on, currently being used to store bags, bags need removing.
• Pram ready: No tick yet. Still in pushchair form, needs reverting, linings cleaned, test drive, "MoT".
• Car seat ready: No tick yet. One piece AWOL needs finding, then needs cleaning. Maybe treat ourselves to a new base unit so we don't have to switch between cars.
• Names: No tick yet. Shortlists ready, this one won't be finalised until after the shortlisted names are put to a face to check for suitability.

All of this was relevant the first time round, and by now all but the name was in a tick status, or very much in hand. This time there are additional worries. We can look back to August 2006 and see when things kicked off. That was a really unpleasant hour to be driving through to hospital then, even without a young one in tow. This time, there's another one to worry about. It's all well and good having offers of help, but all of this is from friends who also work. So to actually inflict a very lively 3 year old on someone who has to leave to go to work is something very different to having the offers there. And then there's the unfamiliar territory, which he's fine with apart from the enthusiastic exploring - so he'll be a handful to say the least.

We have a weekday daytime plan, we sort of have a weekend plan, and we need to have a serious think about the gaps. If these gaps do get plugged, one thing is certain: I won't be spending much time at the hospital. MOTS has indicated this is not necessarily a bad thing (she did mean it in a positive way, not that she can't stand the thought of me being there - or so I hope), so it my work out OK. But it's that deadline that isn't a deadline that's a real problem. With what is effectively a four week window that's a long time to be on standby, never mind having anyone else on standby for us. I guess this is one downside to not being part of a big Catholic family with numerous brothers and sisters living on the next street. The upside is that we don't have numerous brothers and sisters living on the next street. A double-edged sword if ever there was one.

So here’s hoping for it to start around 07:00 on a Monday morning, time to drop number 1 off at nursery as normal, head through to hospital, home by the tea time pickup. The only preparation that is needed then is to feed the pigs and line them up on the runway ready for take-off.