Every administrative assistant has a "First Slip." Mine? In 2015, I tried to coordinate a Wailuku community luau for 200 people. The goal was simple: bring the 'ohana together under one dome, one rhythm. But oh, the waves that hit me.
I thought I was smart. I wanted to include the folks back home in Hawaii, the cousins in California, and the family in Tokyo. So I set up a Zoom call to finalize the menu. Three time zones. I forgot that 9 AM in Wailuku is 12 PM in Tokyo and 6 AM in LA. Half the family was asleep, and the other half was at work. The printer jammed right as I was trying to print the seating chart. And the smoke alarm? Oh, the smoke alarm went off because I was trying to "test" the grill in the kitchen.
That day taught me that a calendar isn't a cage. It's a map. You need room for the unexpected—like when the pineapple upside-down cake got a little too hot, or when the karaoke machine started singing "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole" in the middle of the speeches.
Now, when I plan a luau or a colony event, I leave space for the glitches. Because sometimes, the best memories are the ones that didn't go exactly to plan.