Life is What Happens

I am still here, and all is well. Thanks to those who inquired.

We have been working hard to get our lives back to normal since moving. I am not exactly sure what normal means to me, really. I remember a health teacher I had my second or so year in college, she used to always say “life is what happens when you are busy planning something else.” I thought she was brilliant.

Turns out it was actually John Lennon that said it. I guess that means John Lennon is brilliant, because it is true.

I have been planning something else for myself for a long time now. I have been planning what I thought was the perfect life. A life free from worry and concern, a life full of written schedules, job charts and perfect organization. A life with a fully stocked pantry, laundry completely done, floors vacuumed, mopped, and polished all at the same time, and best of all, my quivers full to overflowing with happy children with clean faces and hair that never needs combing.

My quivers are not as full as I had planned for myself, but my HEART is full to bursting with the four brilliant, beautiful, and (mostly) happy children I do have. Granted, one in particulars face is never clean and as it turns out, we do have to comb their hair at least once a day, and quite often, it is several times a day.

At least I have this part down. The rest of the list is still only a plan, a plan that is continually being changed while life is happening all around me.

My pantry is never fully stocked. As soon as I buy stuff those same children eat it.

My laundry is never completely caught up, because what are we wearing? More laundry. It is amazing to me how much laundry a family of six can generate in one day.

Written schedules and charts? What’s that? I have 'make a chore chart and school schedule' written down on my list of things to do somewhere between finish unpacking the basement and teach the children Spanish.

Perfect organization is a dream I have had for over three decades and I refuse to let go of it no matter how many times I have to re-do a certain child’s bedroom because she has the exact opposite vision of perfection than I do.

The floors are never all vacuumed and mopped at the same time,and polished? Forget about it, because as soon as I mop there are Goldfish (you guessed it, from the pantry…)crumbs, or some other delicious morsel sprinkled about, almost like fairy dust, in the most curious of places.

My life will never be free from worry and concern. I have children. When you are a parent there is always worry and concern, but, my life will never be void of joy and love either and really, that is all that matters.

Ahhh, yes. My teacher, ahem, John Lennon, was right. Life IS what happens when you are busy planning something else.

But what they didn’t say is that sometimes, just sometimes, plan B is even better.