‘Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the town,
Proposal staff wore a deep, grumpy frown.
For amid shoppers, cookies, and peppermint lids,
Procurement Officials set the due date for RFQs and bids.
Designers and builders, with nog in their veins,
Scrambled through specs, through prebids and delays.
“Who planned this? A Grinch?!” they cried with dismay,
But deadlines were looming—no chance for delay.
The scopes were confusing, the addenda a maze,
The calendar cruel in these end-of-year days.
But onward they typed, through eggnog-filled sighs,
Crafting proposals with red, weary eyes.
By the stroke of the due date, the submittals appeared,
All filed on time, though champagne was near.
Agency staff gave a grin, with a holiday smirk,
“We’ll review these next month—right now’s just too much work!”
So here’s to the pros who hustle and grind,
Through year-end proposals with deadlines unkind.
Let’s hope next December, there’s mercy instead—
And deadlines that let us all sleep in our beds!
P.S. Welcome to the Bah Humbug awards BEX publishes each year right around Christmas. Anyone who requires bids or proposals due the day after a major holiday is certainly a Grinch in our book. If you are working on one of those horribly timed proposals, we see you and hope this moment of humor helps get you through. Cheers!
