Last year was my first year as the parent of an elementary school student. My daughter Lily had a lovely Kindergarten teacher and throughout the year I sent her small notes of thanks and a gift here or there to express our family's gratitude for all her hard work… being a Kindergarten teacher cannot be easy.

On the first day of school this year I was horrified to learn that for an entire year I had called that sweet Kindergarten teacher by the wrong (first) name. ALL. YEAR. LONG. How it happened exactly, I don't know. Last year was a crazy year for me and I guess somewhere in between juggling a lot of different things I missed a few details. It's a funny story now, and realizing my mistake I profusely apologized and she handled the situation with grace and kindness. But seriously, I called the woman, that made five days a week of school bearable for my only child, by the wrong name for 180 school days!

Well you can believe that this year I double (okay, maybe triple checked) the first and last name of Lily's teacher, because two years in a row of making that mistake is going to get me labeled, “that mom.”

But considering all the things we have on our plates these days, it's not surprising that sometimes minor (or major) details fall through the cracks. That's why I am so excited that my friend Kristy Dickerson has created an amazing new day planner called Start Planner. She very sweetly sent one to me after Showit UNITED with a handwritten note and a suggestion that I write Lily's teacher's name inside. And you know what? I did.

This is probably the appropriate place to tell you that I have tried and failed (sometimes miserably) in the past to keep a day planner. I use a Moleskin notebook every day to keep my notes in from every meeting, every conference call, every everything. Except I don't use my Moleskin for keeping my calendar, I use my phone for that. But then I often forget to check the calendar on my phone. And the circle of trying to stay on top of it all keeps spinning. What I love about the design of the Start Planner (that is different from any other planner I've ever used) is that the entire first section of the planner is about setting goals, the projects you're working on and your financials. It's not just a day planner/organizer, it's a life planner/organizer; and boy I could use one of those. I'm excited to start eliminating the sticky notes that grow like Kudzu in the South all over my desk and up the sides of my monitor.

Another one of my favorite parts of the Start Planner is that at the beginning of each month there is a place for the Cards & Gifts you want to send out that month. I will admit that Amazon Prime has saved me on more than one occasion with gifts for family and friends… but I would always rather wrap the gift myself and send a hand-written card.

The hardest part now is waiting until I can begin filling in all of the details of my new planner in January. And just to give you a quick reality check that's less than 40 days from now!!

Elizabeth Langford

Elizabeth handles Community Relations for Showit. As part of the Showit Marketing & Community team she plans and creates events and experiences for Showit users, who are lovingly referred to as Showiteers. Elizabeth was a professional photographer specializing in engagements and weddings for six years. She loves to golf, read, camp and delights in being a wife and mom.