“I'm always up for winning free food.” Looking down the lineup, our odds seemed good. There was the lady with the cane, two other women in high-heeled shoes, and two more serious contenders who looked like they may put up a fight.
I felt her grip shift in my hand.
Was my hand getting sweaty? When was the last time I held a woman’s hand?
It would've been Brooke’s hand in law school. We were pretty good together, but then I needed to study for the bar, and well, she was a distraction.
Mary nodded back over at James; his tail wagging was in full effect. “I've got to know, was the tail your idea?”
I laughed. “Definitely not.”
She nodded. “I think it’s kinda cute. It seems likeshedoesn’t mind.” I felt her squeeze my hand softly, and I wondered if I’d imagined it.
“Go!” Anna hollered through the megaphone. “The first team back with dog treats wins!”
My date pulled me off my feet as she lunged for the maze.
Wow, she wasn’t joking about those cookies.
We rushed through the tall, dry stalks and as we reached a T in the maze, I tried to slow down, but Mary ran full speed to the right.
“Let’s formulate a plan. We need a system,” I added, trying to pull her back.
“Plan?” She leaned away from me like I might be contagious. “It’s a maze . . . How about our plan is, go fast and win cookies?” She started ahead.
That was no plan. How could they remember which corners they took? They would end up going in circles.
“Wait. We can’t just randomly take corners.” I pulled Mary to a stop. I couldn’t think and run at the same time.
She scowled up at me.
“Wait a second, let me think. I remember reading something once about maze strategy.”
Her face scrunched. “Plans aren’t my thing.”
I nodded. Very few people loved plans as much as I did.
“Maybe not, but I think cookies are, and I read somewhere that if you use a strategy with mazes, you’re more successful. Let’s go right at every intersection. If we hit a dead end, we circle back,take a left, and continue right.” I nodded my head. It was a solid plan, a good plan.
Mary groaned. “I don’t know what you’ve been reading, but that sounds terrible.”
I chuckled. “It’s not terrible, it’s logical. Just like plans are.”
Planning was a main guidepost for success. Life is busy and if I don’t have a plan, how would I ever know if I was heading toward my goals? Everything in my life had a plan. The car, the penthouse, the prestigious job.
I was going to become a partner at Raymond & Johnson Law in four years. I had an offer, once, but then life got in the way. Dad had put me through law school and saving his firm had to come first. Now that it was out of the red and we had hired a few junior lawyers, it looked like things were turning around.
It would require diligence, perseverance, and getting employed at Raymond & Johnson Law.
One step at a time.
Mary let out a long sigh. “Corn mazes aren’t very exciting as it is, but going right every time is going to be torture.” She formed a little pouty lip. “Come on. Let’s run and choose at random.” She shrugged. “Let Fate decide.”
“Fate is not real. If you don’t have a plan or a system, you won’t get where you want to go. Besides, Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Every minute spent organizing is an hour earned.’”
Mary tugged my hand to the left. “Tonight I have an order placed with Fate, and I’m hoping for the best. Come on.” She squeezed my hand and leaned her shoulder into me. I felt a rush run up my arm and she looked at me pleading. “I think you should try to go with no plan. They rarely work anyway.”
This would not lead to efficiency.
