When Things Don't Work Out Like You Planned

I am, by nature, a planner.  I like order in everything, so if I take a vacation I'm going to research places to eat, sights to see, and things to do until I have a full itinerary when I get there.  My husband is the opposite.  He is a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of guy.  I will read blogs, reviews, and get the input of coworkers before choosing a hotel.  My husband will say, "let's go on an adventure."  I cringe when I hear him say this because this usually means I'm going to be covered in seed ticks from taking a hiking trail less traveled or bitten by sand fleas when he chooses a less crowded beach.  And yes, these things only happen to me! I remember when my husband decided to find a hotel on our way to our destination on our honeymoon. What we didn't realize was that it was the opening night of the NFL season and every hotel within 100 miles of where we were planning on stopping was full.  We prayed for a vacancy sign and finally found one a few hours past where we were originally going to stop.  A year later, while traveling, my husband once again said, "Let's just drive, and we'll stop when we get tired."  We got tired at this little college town with only one hotel.  I'm sure it was grand in its early years.  It even had a ball room.  However, those days were over.  As we opened the door on our room, I stood in horror.  There was a worn trail on the carpet leading between the bed and bathroom.  The television was black and white with rabbit ears held together with aluminum foil.  As we walked to the bathroom, we noticed a Budget motel shower curtain.  This would be fine if this was a Budget motel.  It was not.  The soaps and shampoos had also been taken from various chain hotels.  The toilet seat was broken and taped back together with duct tape.  The final straw was the bed with two human-sized dents shaped in the mattress.  Now, paranoid of all the nasty things that could be found in dive motels, I refused to take off my coat.  I lay perfectly still on top of the comforter praying that when I left, I wouldn't take little critters with me.  These moments may seem like horrible experiences due to lack of planning, but they weren't.  To this day, these moments are the memorable ones we share.  They have brought us so much laughter.  I find that in my need to control situations, I lose some of the most memorable times in our life.  My son was home during quarantine and decided he had to make a pull-up bar.  After researching, he and his dad put together this massive triangular monstrosity sitting in our front yard.  It was so high (due to his being 6 foot 7 inches) that no one else could even reach the bar.  My need to control wanted to tell my son and husband there was no need to build this thing because he was going back to school soon.  I also struggled with what we would do with something that looked like big fraternity letters in our front yard.  This is when my husband explained.  It's not the pull-up bar that is important.  It was the time building it with our son that mattered.  My son used it a couple of times and left for summer work.  As I looked at my giant triangle, I thought what a great stand for a hammock chair.  It is now my favorite place to be.  COVID-19 has forced people to change so many plans.  Instead of grieving what we have lost, let's let go of control and enjoy what we have gained.  We have memories with our family that never would have happened without the quarantine.  We have funny stories of ingenious ways people have dealt with adversity.  As we face the unknown, although we can't plan, we can choose to find the adventure and memorable moments.

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!