I knew in the back of my mind, however, that in 'the real world' there wouldn't normally be extensions for deadlines. The time my boss needed stuff to be done was the time it was going to have to be done. Deadlines always seemed like they would get exponentially more important in 'real life.' Now that I'm here though, I'm not sure that they are.
To be sure, work deadlines are still pretty immovable. I have to get tomorrow's show done and out the door before I leave or there will be no show and eventually no job. It's the deadlines in other parts of life that seem to mean absolutely nothing.
For example, a couple I work with is trying to adopt a child from overseas. They are incredibly open to where they adopt from, they just want a baby. They started out in a few African countries before the adoption process changed and changed and changed and are now on a list for adopting a baby from Korea. They were steadily moving up the list for a while. They had been told they could have their baby boy within a few months. A few months! Wow! They were so excited and so were all of us at work. They were making preparations, meeting appointments, and attending classes when....
'woosh'
The deadline moved. Korea decided to change their adoption policy, too. Now, once you get matched to your child you must wait a year. The couple month deadline they had been given before was thrown completely out the window. No meaning any longer. Korea just got an extension.
Another example is the housing situation in which my brand new husband and I find ourselves. This past year, my husband lived in his 97 year old grandmother's basement so she had someone in the house with her. Getting married would mean he would move out and she would be alone again. His mother, who is his grandmother's primary caretaker, offered us a deal: Since she is always over there anyways, my husband's parents would move into the basement and we could rent their 3 bedroom rancher for cheap so they wouldn't have to find someone they trust to rent it to. The stipulation was that there needed to be a bathroom in the basement before his parents could move as his mother has health issues which make navigating the stairs often difficult.
Before we left on our honeymoon, the plan was that we could sleep in the 3 bedroom rancher when we got back even if the house wasn't packed up.
'woosh'
Bye-bye to the first deadline set in the process. Since the return from the honeymoon, my husband and I have been living in the basement of his grandmother's, waiting for this whole deal to be finished. It has now been a month since our wedding and I find myself waffling between being frustrated and impatient and being accepting and sort of oblivious. We've since been given a few more deadlines of 'We think we can make the move this or next weekend,' all of which have 'wooshed' by, adding extension after extension.
I struggle with the lack of respect for these deadlines and the constant extension of them. I think I must know how the professors I got extensions from feel. It just drags it out and drags it out.
I don't think I like the sound of extensions 'wooshing' by any more. :P
