I’m a planner at heart. I like to have a good idea of what I’m doing the next day – the next week and the next month. But I can also go with the flow… providing I know those things I’ve planned will get done eventually.
When a spanner gets thrown into the works, I will embrace it and run with it but I may sulk inwardly. I may even need to retreat for a while to deal with my feelings. Life can be a constant spanner in the works can’t it? Some days, you don’t know if you’re Arthur or Martha.
The last three weeks have been a test on my plans. And while the inconveniences were no biggies… there were still feelings of disappointment and impatience to deal with.
The first spanner in the works was this blog. I finally outsourced the backing up of my blog. I organised to pay a designer to do my backups and updates for me each month. Unfortunately, the back end of the website needed a bit of a clean and refresh, which required a new look. It was unexpected, but had to be done and needed to be scheduled around existing workloads.
It’s been over 2 weeks since my last post, and I have been antsy. I like to keep the blog updated with new content and I had to do what I was told to not add any content while the new site was getting developed. It was a nice break and it allowed me to get a ton of writing work done for my clients. BUT, I love writing here and I like to keep this space watered.
Being unable to share posts has been a test of my patience. Bless my designer for being understanding and getting the website up and running sooner than expected. I’m really happy with the new layout. What do you think? More and more people are reading via their phone and iPads these days, so this format makes it friendly for both handheld media and desktop. (my last theme had formatting issues which annoyed me so much!)
So while the blog was getting a makeover, our plans for the school holidays took a bit of an unexpected turn.
The first week of school holidays saw us make the most of our time together by heading to the Planetarium, seeing The Incredibles 2 and a scheduled sleep over at Grandma and Pa’s.
This sleepover meant Jacob and I could have a dinner date out to celebrate my Birthday.
We booked a restaurant overlooking the Storey Bridge, but I unfortunately came down with a bad cold (blocked nose, sore throat, bad cough THE WORKS) and I couldn’t smell or taste a thing! I was frustrated at the timing of being sick and not making the most of a kid-free night. Date nights are rare. It ended up raining so I was kind of glad our plans were cancelled… but still. It was good to have some quiet to recoup from the cold though.
Despite my cold, by the weekend I was feeling better and could finally breathe through my nose. Jacob booked me in for a surprise Day Spa visit which was D I V I N E. A facial and massage was just what I needed. I had some time to myself wandering Indooroopilly Shopping Centre afterwards which was bliss. I may have looked a bit disheveled (does anyone walk out of a day spa looking anything but?!) And then I came home to Esther covered in spots from head to toe. The poor thing had contracted Chicken Pox!
So for the second week of school holidays, we bunkered in at home. I had my Birthday at home, but my mum delivered a tray of bakery goods to get us through. Playdates with friends had to be cancelled and RSVP’s to Birthday parties had to be retracted.
Phoebe’s Birthday was on the Wednesday and I had organised a pampering experience for all three girls. I was able to take the younger two out, but Esther had to miss out. I was gutted for her that she couldn’t enjoy what had been planned, but her Birthday is in a couple of weeks, so we will be able to make up for what was missed.
Despite the week being one spent at home, we put the time to good use by baking cupcakes, crafting, making slime, bath bombs and watching movies hired on Apple TV. (Thank goodness for the internet!)
And now, a week has gone with everyone getting back into their normal routines. School is back. Everyone’s better and life has gone on as usual.
Changed plans can turn out better than we expect. I wouldn’t wish sickness on anyone, but we made the most of the time at home. And it was actually a great week.
Sometimes, you just have to run with what you can’t change and make the most of it.
And then make more plans to catch up on the plans that had to be cancelled or postponed.
(I’m looking at you date night overlooking the Storey Bridge!)
