Deadlines Deadlines Deadlines.....ramblings from mom

Chelsea made her magazine deadline. This is very big news. If you have followed Chelsea long enough you can see that this busy young woman has a lot of irons in the fire. It guess it is in her genes because her wonderful mother is exactly the same! However, teenagers do not always have the most developed sense of exactly how long projects will take to be completed. Thus there are times that making a deadline is veeerrryy stressful!

As a homeschooler, Chelsea has a lot of flexibility in her schedule. But as a teenager, knowing how to prioritize to get the job done doesn't always come naturally. Heck....this can be difficult for adults! So we utilized this opportunity to learn how to take a deadline and work backwards -- making sure there was sufficient time to complete each part of the project. I have to say she was pretty successful with this. I had imagined an entire week of all-nighters working on finishing and she really only had a couple of late nights at the very end.

She had to have her hat crocheted in her own sheep's wool that she carded, dyed and handspun herself to England by Friday, January 30th. That meant it had to be finished the week ahead to get mailed soon enough....it still had to go Global Express but it arrived on time. She also had to have her pattern completed before the 30th so she could have testers make the pattern to make sure the instructions were clear. The article that was written had to be sent on the 30th and it was! The first revision is already completed and it looks as though the project is about finished.

Whew! This was a pretty big deal for a 16 year old. I think it is a pretty big deal for an adult. But for a teen with high aspirations when it comes to wool, yarn, and crochet.......it's a dream come true.

So I couldn't be prouder of you Chelsea....you did a great job! I know you have more publishing goals for the year and I'm sure you will meet every one successfully. I just hope I don't get more gray hairs over worrying about your deadlines. But I guess you've proven that I don't need to worry. You are learning to prioritize and manage your time without the "micro-manager" (yes....I did get accused of micro-managing her time....ouch!)

Can't wait to see your article, pattern and pictures in print!

Love,
Mom