Yes, I can read a calendar.  I know it’s not the actual beginning of the year, but, in my mind, the year always begins when school starts.  If you think about it, it’s a hard habit to break.  You trundle through 12 years of public school, then maybe 4+ years of college, and then there you are at 21 wondering where to buy a calendar that STARTS in August.  You know what I’m talking about.  We all had those student planners that were sold alongside Trapper Keepers.  If you didn’t, you really missed out. 

Personally, I love me a good calendar.  Like I said, I started with the student planners, and as a college student, I lived in my Aggieland Planner.  Every test, study session, lab, and Texas Aggie Football Game was faithfully recorded.  As a new teacher, I was torn; do I graduate to the ever-so-fancy Franklin Covey, or go with the mass-administered DATCU version given to me free?  I went with both, which wasn’t the best plan.  I was on a quest for the best calendar, one that would satisfy WORK and HOME.  I tried desk calendars, Mommy Calendars (which are supercool by the way, with little pockets for Birthday invitations, stickers, and separate columns for everyone’s schedules), pocket calendars, and nothing was that perfect fit.  Then, my husband bought me a Palm Pilot.  Man, that is pretty much the best invention ever.  E-V-E-R.  I can type EVERYTHING into that thing.  I don’t have to rewrite my addresses every year, because yes, I’m just OCD enough to do that.  It fits right in my bag, my purse, practically my WALLET!  I can send myself reminders.  Reminders that BEEP at me since my brain is failing me by the second.  Now that I’ve graduated to the phone/PDA combo, I can send my husband these little beeping reminders as well.  I tell people all the time that the Palm Pilot saved my marriage.  And my sanity.

So, as we embark on this new school year, I invite you to take inventory of your calendar options.  How do you manage all the lists, playdates, soccer schedules, manager meetings, school projects, and reminders to pick up milk on the way home?  Because, if my phone didn’t beep at me, I might not remember to breathe.