Preparedness or the state of anticipating an event, issue or question and being ready with an appropriate response has never been my strong point. At least in being ready for the things that most folks would consider practical.
For example, I once started a cross country move with my sub compact car packed to the gills – leaving no room to look out my back or side windows. It was almost impossible to turn or change lanes safely. But with my two basses and a gigantic amp handy, I was totally prepared in case I stumbled across people looking to form a band. The week before my wedding I labored for hours on appetizers (which I should have just left to catering) while almost completely neglecting decorations, my dress and veil and shoes. Thankfully, my relatives pitched in the day before and the event went off without a hitch.
Being responsible for other people, namely my son and husband, has made me somewhat more responsible, but I still have lapses. Like right now. I should be cleaning the house in anticipation of guests who are arriving in a couple of hours instead of writing this blog. What can I say? Writing is more fun. More than once my son has eaten hot dogs for dinner (which he loves) because I spent hours preparing a delicious dish containing at least one ingredient he despised and neglected to whip up anything for him.
Being an entrenched impractical has its advantages as it often leaves one in the position to come up with alternate solutions quickly. What an entrenched impractical lacks in planning skills s/he possesses in rapid decision making. Neglecting to buy batteries in anticipation of a power outage can force one to come up with some pretty creative lighting sources such as candles, lanterns and back issues of This Old House and Automobiles Monthly stuffed into a metal wastebasket and lit on fire.
Lack of preparedness also makes one less rattled when carefully laid out plans go array. Store ran out of pizza dough on Superbowl Sunday? Your favorite impractical is already whipping up the crust in a homemade way. Kids smash a window with a wayward baseball because they weren’t warned to play far away from the house? Your favorite impractical, after a minute of recovery, will compel the kids to help clean up with his/her (eventual) buoyant, breezy reaction.
But even the entrenched practical has to come back to earth sometimes. In this writer’s case, the guests are arriving in an hour and the house is a complete wreck. Time to get to work.
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Martha's Adventures in Words 
Are you sure we’re only related by marriage? This all sounds mighty familiar. When Laurinda & I drove cross country with my dad there was absolutely no view out the back window, and just enough space left in the car to snugly fit 3 people. Dad told me it was good driving practice.
Not to mention, I had dreams of catering our wedding completely, luckily my father-in-law stepped in and told me that was crazy talk. We still did all the desserts ourselves, but I had a fantastic bridesmaid who decorated all the cupcakes one morning while I was in class. I was shocked when I got home 🙂