I’m counting on things working out the way they’re supposed to. I’m depending on people to come through with what they promised. If they don’t, I’m sunk. If it doesn’t happen that way, then all the good I did myself today is wasted.

Sure, it was a Monday, but I can’t do anything, work-wise, until tomorrow, when I get a supply of checks to write. It’s one thing to have bills to pay and enough money in the bank to pay them. It’s quite another thing to let those bills pile up, unpaid, while you wait for the bank to print checks. There was a mix-up with the order, but I’ve been promised (promised!) that I’ll have those checks in my hand tomorrow.

And that means that I’ll be massively busy the rest of the week. I have a lot of catching up to do, and it all starts with this week’s very important payroll run. Once the bills are paid, they have to be recorded and the invoices filed and all manner of other busywork that will keep me from taking a breath until at least Friday.

So I took advantage of the lull today by finishing my Christmas shopping. I ran into Mom at the mall; she was finishing her shopping, too. Five days left, but those days will be jam-packed with tedious trifles, so I had to get it done today. If not for the lack of checks, I might not have had a chance to finish at all. Funny how those things work.

It doesn’t bother me that this whole scenario depends on people keeping their promises to me. I’ve never had a problem with that. Most of the people I deal with have always been as good as their word. I trust the good will and integrity of anyone who tells me they’re going to do something. I’m rarely disappointed.

(But really, I’m nervous as heck about those checks getting here tomorrow. I’ve done my part, and I need this one little thing to go right. I haven’t even made a contingency plan, not because I have such strong belief that it’ll work out, but because it just has to.)