Why That Paper Trail is Helpful

I know it seems like we harp on organization a lot around here. Well, that's what we do. Yesterday, Karen talked about having a contract with your nanny or sitter. It's not that we are perfect at it, by any means. I completely have days where my thinking is muddled and off. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to hold it all together with twine. Like when I pour orange juice on my daughter's Cheerios instead of milk. Or when I show up at their elementary school office at ten o'clock with their snacks, homework and lunches in hand. Yep, some days I am THAT mom.
I'm working to get better, and I can see where sometimes that paper trail can protect me. By writing it out, there is COMMUNICATION. It's all there in black and white. That's really what our organizers are about. Not to say,"Oh look at me! I'm perfectly organized!" but to make sure there communication between the two parties.

Case in point- now this does not have to do with a sitter, as my regular sitters and I have our routine down, but a parent and student in my studio. Last week was recital week. The parent, lacking details about the recital (basically, directions) proceeded to tell me that I needed to send something out a month before the recital with times, locations and that this was mandatory. Well, I did not send out a mass letter, but had been writing it on her young teen child's lesson sheet for some time. When I explained that, she dismissed me saying, "Oh, I never look at those." To which I replied,"That's the whole purpose of the lesson notebook- so everyone knows what the student is doing." And I proceed to show her how I had been writing down the location and time of the recital since the last week in January. Yep, for three months I had been communicating the information to everyone of my students in their lesson notebook.

I imagine there was quite the lively conversation in the car on their trip home.

Point being, when we write it down, it's there. We're communicating. And that's what this is all about.

Yours, wishing you a good Tuesday,

Melissa