When you’re ill-prepared: speaking of backups

Photo by Hugo Clément on Unsplash.

Funny story: a couple weeks ago, my husband and I packed for an overnight trip to the “big city” for various appointments. I was rather proud of how quickly we were on the road. All went well, until…[read more]

A funny thing happened on the way to rehab

A last-minute schedule shuffle recently brought me to Minneapolis, 1,700 miles from my Phoenix home. All-things travel rolled according to plan: until my first morning in town. While backing down a driveway in my rental car—a 2019 white Toyota Camry—on the way to visit a family member recovering in post-surgery transitional care, the sickening crunch of metal alerted me to the fire hydrant I’d overlooked with the tall red metal post near the curb. I examined the outcome (fire hydrant: 1; Camry: 0) and made a quick decision: pop the fender and grille back into place and go. After a heartwarming visit, I spent the remainder of the afternoon dealing with the aftermath of my fender bender. In spite of a change of plans, missed opportunities and extra expenses, I managed to handle the experience with grace under fire. And the favor that’s followed simply validates when the unexpected happens, our reactions open the door to receive blessings or cursings.

How do you handle the unexpected?

A new way to approach the New Year: what’s your word?

 

I think it would be much more sensible
if resolutions began generally
on January the second.
~ Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones’s Diary)

Resolution—a word that can conjure up anxiety, ill will, self-defeat—even before we put wings to it. For decades I’ve attempted to ring in the new year with resolutions, plans, intentions. This year, however, prior to the advent of Jan. 1, a single word settled upon my soul: “Exercise.” And because I already strive to incorporate 8-10 hours of weekly physical fitness into my life, my first thought sounded a lot like: WTH? But then I began putting pen to paper: Exercise… kindness. Exercise… my spiritual muscles. Exercise… self-control, self-discipline and my faith. Exercise… gratitude, creativity and my mind. And, yes, exercise my physical body. Each insight also includes tangible ways I can live out my word—a reference to measure my journey throughout the days and weeks ahead. It’s going to be a good year—I can feel it.

What’s your word for 2019?

Image courtesy of 7crafts at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

New year, new you: back to the basics

Prior to Jan. 1 each year, I prepare a list of goals to aim toward over the next 365 days. This year was no different; however, come New Year’s Day, I abandoned several of my plans to focus on immediate, more pressing needs: my relational, mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. Although fraught with copious amounts of kicking and screaming, my resolve birthed a new plan to Let go and let God, if you will. Once I stripped away the myriad tasks that occupy my planner and relinquished control of outcome-driven objectives—in other words, after I surrendered my own agenda—I returned to the basics that I write about in “Falling into place…” Not only have I been blessed with second chances, but a foundation has been laid so that, when it’s time to revisit my original goals—maybe where I left off, maybe somewhere different—I’ll be ready. As a new and improved version of me.

What new goals, if any, have you begun in 2018?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

When your plans are derailed

[Image credit: samurai]

Every weekday morning my alarm is set for 4:30.  Recently, I turned off the alarm when it chirped its irritating wake-up call but, instead of rising immediately, I fell back asleep.  And woke up 45-minutes later.  That really put a crimp in my morning, which included making dinner for that evening as I would be home late from Yoga.  My only other choice was to quickly revise my plan (that’s really why I write everything in my Franklin with pencil, not pen).  I looked at the day and everything I hoped to accomplish, prioritized (Yes, I have to go to work.  Yoga is not negotiable.  Leftovers look good for dinner tonight.  Who says two rooms need to be dusted?).  Once I readjusted my plans, I regrouped, was able to get moving and do what needed to be “did.”  The day was salvaged (with little wiggle-room for anything more to be added) with just enough time to make my Keurig iced coffee.

How do you salvage a derailed day?