Can you ever really be prepared?

Are you a planner? Do you save for your retirement? Do you bring a detailed list with you to the grocery store? When you got married did you have a life plan; how long you would wait before you started a family or bought your first house? Many of us can relate to these scenarios. We have good intentions and we try to plan, but a thing called 'life' tends to get in the way.

It can be as simple as we may have dreamt too big too soon. Sometimes we really don't understand all it will take to get from point A to point B. Perhaps we don't understand everything that will be involved; the time something will take, the dedication, and what it will cost.

Have you ever tried to plan for a loss? If you found yourself caring for someone who was sick you may have had a little glimpse of what lied ahead and tried to prepare yourself. Sometimes we don't get any time to prepare. We tell someone goodbye in the morning as they go off to work not realizing that they might not come home that night. Life has a tendency to throw us curve balls without any warning. When that happens all we can do is react and then give ourselves permission to adjust later.

Have you ever tried to prepare for a blessing; a child on the way perhaps? You do your research, you read your books, and you listen to the free advice from everyone around you. Then the baby arrives and maybe you don't feel like you're ready. Don't worry. Your parental instincts are there, and the rest will come with time and experience.There are people there to help if you let them. The saying , 'It takes a village to raise a child' has more merit than you think.

Sometimes, the scene can play out simply by trying to get a lot of extra work done so you won't feel as guilty taking some personal time off. I know I fall into this category. I put the responsibility on myself to try not to inconvenience anyone when I am not at work. Although, cramming 60 hours worth of work into a 40 hour week probably isn't the healthiest of ideas. All you manage to do is wear yourself out before you take your time off. I've known people who could just clock out and say, 'Bye, see you in a week.' I wonder what their secret was.

I guess my question today is 'Can we ever really be prepared?' More importantly, should we even put that pressure on ourselves to try? Truth be told, we will do our best; sometimes we will succeed and sometimes we will fail. But that's okay.

What kinds of things do you plan for? 
What kinds of things would you rather go with the flow with?

It's All About The Curve

When I was a young girl one of my best memories was going to the Detroit Tigers baseball games with my mom, my dad, and my sister. My dad generally travelled most of the week for his job, but if it was summer time you could bet that if the Tigers were playing at home we would pick my dad up from the airport and go straight to Trumbull Ave. to catch a night game. My dad insisted (no matter how young we were) that if we were going to go to a game, we were going to UNDERSTAND the game. He would buy a program and teach us how to fill in the stats; the number of pitches, the strikes, the fouls, the outs, the batting order, etc. He would teach us to watch for pitches; the slider, the fast ball, and the curve ball. The curve ball was interesting - the way the ball would seem to switch directions and turn back in.

 

A curve in baseball can change the game. A curve on an icy or wet road can be treacherous. We don't always see a curve coming, then we have a mere instant to react.

 

Life is sometimes no different. Every day 'life' has a learning curve attached.

 

• Young children don't come with an instruction manual; we try our best with what we know but some days they will get IT right and other days they won't. There may be some tears involved and perhaps a few Band-Aids.
• Teenagers present a whole new set of challenges. They suddenly become the age where they're convinced that you know absolutely nothing, you could never understand what they are dealing with, and they often feel like they are invincible and untouchable.
• Life continues and we suddenly find ourselves trying to care for our parents. They may or may not have had a plan, but now it is up to us to work through their past, their present, and their future. Sometimes in a short amount of time.

Yes, life definitely has a learning curve. Some days we will find ourselves exhausted, a bit frazzled, majorly overwhelmed, and often talking to ourselves.

 

The moral of this little story ... don't give up, don't give in, keep on trying a new way to smooth out the bumps, and always continue to search for the calmness that will eventually come. Will we have all the answers? Probably not. Will we make mistakes and poor choices along the way? Undoubtedly. Will we survive to see a new day? That's my hope for you, as well as me!