Planordo

After my unfortunate accident I coined a new word: Planordo.

For over six months I planned a trip to southern Colorado and New Mexico for the Young At Heart Group of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. I called bus companies, hotel/motels, restaurants, and places of interest to find the best prices.  I prepared information sheets, advertised, collected money, purchased items needed on the trip and made sure everything would be in order for our trip to take place on September 9-11, 2013. Some of our stops would be the Stations of the
Cross in San Luis, Colorado; Indian dancing in Taos; Santuario de Chimayo; tour of the Santa Fe Cathedral and the Madonna's outfits, the Spiral Staircase, and a trolley ride through Santa Fe.

On September 4, 2013, I slipped on the bottom step as I was going to the basement and ended up with two broken bones in my ankle. Now what? Could I disappoint the 38 persons who were planning on going on the trip? Should I cancel the trip? I tried to get the doctor to give me pain pills and to wrap up my ankle and after I returned from the trip he could do the necessary surgery.  He told me I was not taking anybody anywhere and scheduled the operation for the following day.

As I lay in and out of pain, drowsy from medications, I kept thinking of who could take over for me.  Two persons stood out in my mind as being capable of taking the group. I called them and both agreed to help me out.  Luckily, I had everything written out, step by step, because I had to make sure of the amount of time needed at each stop so that the itinerary would be easy to follow. 

Luckily, I had already purchased some of the things needed for the trip but they were at my house. I called a husband and wife team and gave them a key to my house so they could pick up the items. They took the water, cookies, booklets of the Stations of the Cross, and a game to their house so that the volunteer could get the items from their house. The most important item was a blue folder I called "the Bible."  It held all the information that would be needed including checks, cash and jokes.

The new leader and I met a couple of times and went over the information.  I tried to guide her, from my past experiences, how and what to do. The bus driver who knew our schedule as well as I did because I had used him in the past, called to tell me he would not be able to drive our group. That was a huge disappointment because I was counting on him to help out.  Now, two experienced persons would not be going -- me and the bus driver.

On Monday the 9th of September the journey began after a few tense moments which made them late for their lunch in San Luis. They got back on schedule for the rest of the trip and  I got reports that everything was fine and it sounded as if everyone was enjoying the trip. We kept in touch with our cell phones. The new bus driver, I learned, was cheerful, happy, and willing to help in any way he could. The leader turned out to be a natural tour guide and reports coming back to me were that everyone was enjoying the trip, loved the food, and liked the tours. I was happy for them and yet, sad that I could not be with them!


Many prayers were sent my way and I am sure my pain was minimal because of their prayers. When I received a card signed by everyone and with a small pewter foot with some sand from Chimayo, I smiled through my tears! The travelers were doing all they could to make me feel better!
 
Almost everything went according to plan and when the group returned I received cards and calls thanking me for a well-planned trip. My response was that the people traveling make a trip wonderful because no matter how well a trip is planned, if the "pilgrims" do not get along, the trip will not be a success. All I can say is a great big thanks to all the travelers, the photographers, the bus driver and especially to the tour guide and her helpers!

So, is it better to plan a trip or to do it? Hence my new word of Planordo!