Life Happens

One of the things that I have had to force myself to realize over the last few weeks is that life happens. And there is not much that anyone can really do about that fact.

They say that life is what happens when you are busy making plans. So let me share a bit of how life has happened for us this week.

I had every intention of writing my post about a fabulous brand new crock pot meal that I had found on Monday evening. However, when I walked out of the house at 11:15 to get the kids their lunch and take them to the sitter I realized I had: 1) forgotten to brush my teeth, 2) forgotten to put on deodorant, and 3) forgotten to start dinner in said crock pot. This meant that I would have to scramble to figure out something for dinner when I got home from my meeting at about 6:45. Luckily, by the time I got home Dusty had already come up with a plan and I was just left to implement it while he took some time to focus on his homework.

Tuesday met me with a baby girl that was snot nosed, coughing, and only had the tiniest squeak of a voice. That meant no trips to campus for the weekly food ministry, and very little time off the couch since she wanted me to be right next to her at all times. I did manage to get the majority of a book read that I had to write a book review on (more on that subject to come later.)

Wednesday looked much like Tuesday except by the time Dusty got home I was drained. Between dealing with my homework and a sick child food was the last thing on my mind. This lead to us going to Wendy’s for dinner. That in turn lead to me feeling guilty for eating junk food and for spending money we shouldn’t have been spending. Oh well, such is life right. Things will work out one way or the other…

Thursday baby girl was feeling a bit better but her voice was still coming and going. I had a paper due that I scrambled to get finished. I am not thrilled with how it turned out but, frankly, I don’t think I was going to like it no matter how much time I had to get it done. It was one of those assignments that was just hard to complete. Its amazing how when I write here or in a journal the words seem to come flowing out, but when I have to write a research paper or a book review (anything that counts as homework really) I just can’t seem to get anything down on paper.

That leads us to today. So far today has been great. I ran a few errands, spent some great time with a friend while our kids were able to play together and I have my second load of laundry going in the washing machine.

This is what life had in store for me this week. If you look in my well thought out and beautifully decorated planner, none of what I described above was penciled in there (except maybe the assignments and the playdate).

Life was happening while I was trying to make other plans. I am constantly being told to enjoy these days while my kids are young. They will only be little for such a short time. And I know that. And I do love and enjoy these days. I am looking forward to the fuure as well. I look forward to knowing who my kids will become and having the opportunity to be not just their mom, but their friend.

But for now, I will continue to keep things as scheduled and organized as I can (since that is just who I am), but I will also try to remember that sometimes life happens in spite of my planning. And sometimes it is in that chaos that the best moments will happen.

What do you do when “life happens”? Are you a planner and a schedule type person? Or do you like to just let things fall where they may?