Taking flight

As the wedding of the year approaches, memories of trips past come flying back.

- PAT MCDERMOTT

I don’t know any woman who goes away without leaving a battle plan for the family stuck on the fridge door. Once, when I had to be away longer than usual, I drew up a wall-sized chart for the MOTH (Man of the House). I kept it simple because we’re talking men and kids here. It took me two hours and 10 rainbow-coloured felt pens to get it right.

There was a square for each day I’d be away and an extra column for telephone numbers and helpful hints. The chart was cross-indexed and colour-coded. It took 20 magnets to stick it firmly to the fridge door. It was my pride and joy. The instructions were simple. Find the right day of the week and then do what the chart said. The MOTH looked at it and groaned. “Surely the kids don’t do all this stuff!” He ran his finger down the Saturday sports timetable and the weekly roster for school drop-offs and pick-ups.