Preparedness...

Life is truly what you make of the situation. Also, life's results are many times based on how prepared you were for the situation. If you know it's going to rain then you can bring an umbrella. Sure its fun to get wet sometimes, but not on a Monday morning when you already don't want to be at work.

Now, lets apply this idea to something more complicated. Children. Yes, it is hard to raise children and you don't always know how react or what to do in certain situations. Most people rely on their common sense. There's one thing that baffles me about parents though. Children aren't usually a surprise! Well... it maybe a surprise when you find out you're pregnant, but usually you have 6-9 months to prepare. And I'm not just talking about buying stuff. Granted, children don't pop out with a manual or 30 day trial period, but have you checked the library? Plenty of people have made a living giving advice about raising children.

I've found the same logic applies to work. The more I think through my projects and prepare for what is ahead, the less stress I have and more control of the outcomes. I would imagine the same applies to military actions, like our occupation of Iraq. The White House spent so much time obfuscating the truth about Iraq and Saddam Hussein that they forgot to plan for the years ahead. They didn't consider the possible outcomes. They just seized an opportunity that they had been hoping would come for a long time.

I don't mean to sound like a freakin' boyscout. Just an observation that I've made recently. I try never to be caught with my pants down or having to say "Why the hell did that happen?"