When plans fall through it can be hard to see the other side of the equation. Especially when the plans are ones for which you’ve had your heart set on seeing through to the end. But alas, plans do occasionally do just that. Because, after all, life happens.
In my case, it was the plans for staying at my nursing school buddy’s home for marathon weekend which fell through. I had to remind myself that I knew from the get-go that her daughter’s out-of-state basketball tournament might be an issue. Why wouldn’t she go? Because of me? I guess I wanted to believe that there would be other reasons why she would need to stay in the Boston area. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
I kept looking for the follow up email that said “April Fool’s” but I knew I wasn’t coming. My friend is just not like that. Still, I cannot fathom how we could go wrong in the communication here. I can’t dwell on it. It wasn’t all her fault; I am partly to blame as well.
It was hard for me not to take on the victim mentality. I was fighting the urge to curl up in a ball and murmur “why, oh why me?” It would do me no good. I had to get a grip.
Certainly, I’m not the only one to encounter things not going as-planned. The Big Sur International Marathon organizers had to come up with a Plan B when a significant portion of Highway 1 fell into the Pacific Ocean last month. The decision to change course and have many of the events run an out-and-back course instead of the planned point-to-point was communicated to registrants 2 short days after the fall. I can only guess what sort of murmuring must have been going on in the race director’s mind (if not out loud) in those short 48 hours. “Why, oh why…”
As I made the switch to Plan B (make that D), I wondered if I was being too much of a simpleton in adopting a things-happen-for-a-reason mentality. After all, this was one of the cliché phrases that got me all hung up in my analyzer last month. Yet…once on the other side of things, and perhaps after a bit of distancing, it appears this saying may have some validity — for some things, that is.
Initially, I felt like there were too many moving targets to feel certain about what to do. I was afraid of making a decision only to have the other shoe drop. I don’t have a Plan E nor do I want to entertain one.
And…while it is true that I have been fighting back a desperate sort of all-alone-in-a-new-city feeling, deep down I honestly felt that *this* plan (Plan D) was a really awesome plan. I just wasn’t sure why I felt that way and, therefore, friends and family were left a little concerned.
To those who are more in-the-know on this level, let me assure you that I have done an exercise in due diligence and am very certain that all will be fine. Better than fine. We’re going to have a fabulous time!
It may not be as-planned but, in this case, it may be even better. Now, I just need to get packing.
Friend, I have had something (totally not as big) happen to me today. It’s soo frustrating when things don’t go your way. It’s hard to see that maybe, just maybe, Plan B, C, D, E, or whatever is wayyy better than Plan A
As much as I don’t like the saying “things happen for a reason,” things DO happen for a reason. It will be fabulous!
if you “have a marvelous time”, then the things you had to do to get there don’t really matter, within reason of course :-)