Let The Things You Didn't Plan Unleash You

Several weeks ago while on our way to get ice cream, my daughter and I found ourselves slam-dunk in the middle of a very long traffic jam.  There was little or no movement and no way of knowing how long we’d be there. 

When we set out on our journey, I hadn’t planned on idling for two hours on the freeway en-route to ice-creamy deliciousness that was just-a-short-distance away.  Neither did I plan on Franki (my daughter) having to pee during this extended standstill.  What to do? 

No toilet in sight.  No movement forward.  No way to pull off the side of the road.

This little event was not planned…..

I didn’t plan on my mother leaving when I was a young child.

I didn’t plan on divorcing my husband of 15 years, moving to another country and ending up in Pennsylvania.  

I didn’t plan on getting pregnant, having a child, or having a girl.  (I really thought I'd be more suited to having a boy). 

I didn't plan on have an emergency c-section (I had a home birth planned)!

I didn’t plan on being a life coach.

I didn’t plan on getting on an airplane and having a 4 hour conversation with someone I'd never met and still keep in touch.

I didn’t plan on having a bald eagle fly overhead as I was driving down the highway...

You didn’t plan on getting cancer.

You didn’t plan on going bankrupt…financially or emotionally.

You didn’t plan on having the best time ever on that weekend getaway that you didn’t really want to go on.

You didn’t plan on selling the business that you thought you loved to do something completely different.

You didn’t plan on travelling the world to end up calling Bali home while you started an online business.  

You didn’t plan on having the most delicious lunch you’ve ever had.

You didn’t plan on becoming a professional volleyball player 20 years after you left college.

You didn’t plan on having three kids - or living in Missouri.

You didn't plan on cancelling your wedding ceremony due to wildfires or a great epiphany.

You didn’t plan on having a lover ten years into your committed relationship.

You didn't plan on being pregnant and single. 

You didn’t plan on being the CEO of the company.

You didn’t plan on being the owner of 14 companies.

You didn’t plan on having only green lights on your way to work.

You didn’t plan on getting flowers from your husband when he came home.

You didn’t plan on leaving your wife to pursue what you needed...

Some things you plan and other things you don’t. 

Some things you see coming and other things you don’t.   

Some things you can explain and others you can’t. 

Planned or not, sometimes you still have to pee smack-dab in the epicenter of a traffic jam.

I made a suggestion to Franki.  I proposed I could come around to her side, open the door and she could pee on the pavement...just like she does at home in the grass.  Who knew that skill would ever come in handy? ;) Initially, she declined my innovative idea, but she finally came around to see how brilliant it was and said, “I like your plan.  Let’s do it."

And so, Franki went with the unplanned-plan of peeing on the pavement.  She hiked up her dress, pulled off her undies and hovered over the pavement, splattering my toes as I giggled at the sight. 

Memorable….

The story of your life is written as you live it.

Don’t hold yourself frozen to a place, a name, a face or a way that it has to - or needs to be.

Don’t let the things you didn’t plan on, break you.

Let the things you didn’t plan, unleash you.

Leave your heart open, untamed, and not in a cage.

Loosen your grip on life.  

Embrace the moment; embrace whatever it is and make the best of it. 

…even if it means peeing on the pavement in the middle of a traffic jam.

 

My promise to you...

No gimmicks.  No bullshit.  No upsells.