I sat at the computer this morning to work on quarterly reports for our business. After a wiggle of the mouse, the screen “woke up” to a Word document still open from the night before. In big bold letters at the top of the blank page, it read:
My life plans number two ?
(Including the emoji.)
Thursday nights are Friday nights for our family. The charter school we attend has a four-day school week and we looooooove it. Thursday night rolls around and Hubby and I are like, “peace out, kids! Don’t stay up too late!” Then we go to our room, turn on Netflix and sleep like we don’t have to get kids up for school the next morning. ‘Cuz we don’t.
Usually I know what my kids are doing before I nod off to dreamland. The boys request more screen time (because it’s Thursday, Mom!), then go to their rooms to play Fortnight, Minecraft, and/or Splatoon 2. My girls stay up and “project”. Frequently I come into our shared family office room to find crafting paraphernalia scattered over my computer desk space. Markers, glue, paper cutters, and a hodge podge of paper scraps greet me often when I sit down to work. My mama hen feathers bristle at the general clutter of raising a family but I try to remind myself how one day, my house will be effortlessly spotless. I hope that time doesn’t come too soon. I imagine I’ll wish for the crazy fullness this period of life brings with it. I’ll sorely miss being needed by four young humans who are doing their very best to be good people: learning, stumbling, growing, laughing, and loving their way through it all. It is a joyful time, and it’s going quickly.
Back to my messy desk. Upon reading my daughter’s headline on a blank page, it struck me: we get to do that. We get to re-write our life plans as many times as we want. Balanced living requires constant evaluation, assessment, movement, inevitable mistakes, realignment… hopefully with heaps of humor throughout. And unconditional self-compassion. It’s never too late to stop mid-stride, decide where you’re heading is not where you want to go, and course-correct. It can seem daunting. It can be scary. But also exciting. Nothing is ever so set in stone that we can’t move it with a little (or sometimes a lot) of consistent effort.
So as you think about your life plans, don’t be shy about taking steps in a new direction. Maybe you’ve desired to attend yoga class for months but still haven’t committed. (Pointing at myself over here.) Maybe there’s a healthy boundary you need to set with someone close to you. Maybe you have an urge to travel and those plane tickets are finally on sale. Or perhaps you simply have a blank page with a header, and you’re open to new opportunities of experience and growth.
Whatever it is coming your way, don’t forget to add an emoji smiley face.
