Tick! Tick! Tick!

When I was getting ready to sit on the throne in my medieval group, it was hard to believe the amount of ramp up work that was involved in getting ready.  We had to ask people to serve in various jobs.  We had to arrange for clothes to be made for ourselves and for everyone who was going to walk in our procession and serve in our court.  We had to plan the events we would attend and write words to go in our newsletter the month after we stepped up.  So why am I having a little deja vu now? :-)

I am thinking about this because I remember very vividly that getting ready to reign was actually harder than the reigning.  Yes, while we were on the throne we have events to attend every weekend, meetings to hold with our officers, disputes to mediate and resolve,  issues of importance to the future to address and we were doing it all in the fishbowl, where everything you do, say and wear, is noted and matters to someone.  And yes, we had to deal constantly with people, but nevertheless, reigning was easier than getting ready, because if you spent your getting ready time wisely and planned well, reigning was more about showing up and doing.  Dealing with a crisis is an immediate thing and then it is over.  Planning wakes you up in the middle of the night wondering what you've forgotten and with nightmares of everything going terribly wrong.

Right now I am wondering if this experience will be like that one.

I can hear the clock ticking down to zero all right.  We spent all of Labor Day weekend, which had no Star events on it for us, beating down the never ending list of big and little things that needed to be gotten ready for the Revelation of the 2013 Grand Officers, which is next Thursday, yes, six days from now, the School of Instruction for the Grand Officers, which follows right after the Revelation (yes, seven days from now), and the School of Instruction for our Deputy Grand Matrons, which is three weeks after that, and a tiny bit for Grand Installation, but hey, that is a whole six weeks from now - that's like FOREVER!

I think I made my fourth run to Office Depot and my third run to Michael's this past weekend, with quick stops in Hancock's Fabrics and Party City.  Thank goodness that I have a great Chairman for the stuff next week, because I would just die on the spot if I was trying to take care of all those details too.  And thank goodness too that I finished writing the agendas for the Schools three months back.  If I was trying to work out those details too, ack!

So, the folders are stuffed, the discs are copied, the binders are made and filled, the food is arranged, the staff is coming to help, the hotel block is ready, the equipment list has been distributed, the gift bags are prepared, the last set of DGM homework and instructions has gone out and the Itinerary has gone to the printer.  What's next?

This weekend, I am headed to Fresno for the GO/DGM/Grand Page dinner and the WGM/WGP Reception, along with five meetings stuffed in and around these lovely activities.