The Two-Year Old That Screwed Up My Project Plan

I had a great plan. I had my schedule defined and I shared it with the key stakeholders. It was only a three-day project. Day one went flawlessly. Day two, the key day in the project, veered offline quickly. Mostly because a two year old had a snozy nose. She woke and was clearly in the midst of a major cold, especially for such a small person.

My lovely wife is amazing. She works as a teacher’s aid. She runs a household of 7 teenagers. And she didn’t even blink when our granddaughter came to stay with us for a while. She somehow makes it all work.

And this week, she took a vacation. Not just her. She is in Yellowstone with two of our daughters. It’s a graduation gift to the older daughter. She did a lot of work prior to leaving. She prepped me on meds, schedules, rules, meal plans, and she helped to arrange child care for our granddaughter.

On Monday, the process went flawlessly. Tuesday was the important day. I had clients flying in from Jacksonville to visit our center here in Salt Lake. My granddaughter is a cheerful kid even when she’s sick. She stared at me smiling with snoz running down her face.

The woman who watched her on Monday and was planning to watch her Tuesday has a 3 month old new baby. That was not going to work.

No project plan survives unscathed from begining to end. I realized that the mute button covers a multitude of sins. . and diaper changes. I’ve often encountered obstacles and changes in every project I’ve ever built.

This was by far the cutest interruption I’ve ever had to deal with.

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. 

Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss) 
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss) 
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com

(c) 2017 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved