I had a plan today.
A perfectly reasonable, completely manageable plan that involved accomplishing several things in a sensible order and ending the day with the satisfying feeling that I had been productive.
Naturally, none of that happened.
The morning started well enough. I made coffee, opened my notebook, and wrote down everything I intended to accomplish. I even put little checkboxes beside each item, because apparently checking a box makes a task feel significantly more important.
Then Genny called.
She needed my opinion about something.
Twenty minutes later, we had discussed the original subject, three unrelated subjects, a hypothetical road trip, something we saw online, and whether either of us would survive being contestants on a cooking show.
We would not.
At some point, I realized I had been sitting there with my coffee getting cold while my carefully organized list remained completely untouched.
And you know what?
I laughed.
Because maybe I’ve been giving plans a little too much credit.
Plans are useful, certainly. They help us get where we want to go. But sometimes we become so focused on following the plan that we forget to notice what’s happening along the way.
The unexpected phone call.
The conversation that makes you laugh.
The detour that leads somewhere interesting.
The afternoon that doesn’t turn out anything like you imagined.
Maybe those aren’t interruptions.
Maybe they’re part of the story.
I’ve decided I’m going to keep making plans. I’m just going to leave a little room for life to mess them up.
After all, some of the best memories I’ve made were never on the schedule.
And tomorrow?
I’m putting “be prepared for absolutely anything” at the top of my list.
I suspect that’s one checkbox I might actually get to mark off.
Syd 