Tuesday, March 26, 2013

When Plans Go Awry

I'm sure that this has happened to me before.  I just can't remember when so many plans were foiled before they even began... or when they were just getting underway. Stroll with me through the past few weeks:

TBG had water sloshing around in his ear for a whole weekend before he decided that a doctor should look at it.  After an examination, he was given Cipro ear drops. They were supposed to dry up the water and clear up the infection that was beginning to set in.  After eight of the prescribed ten days of use, the ringing in his head was still there.... all day... every day.  He went back to the doctor, who told him that the prescription drops were thickening his ear drum and causing the ringing.

He's got a prescription nasal inhalant and the doctor's assurance that flying won't hurt him and that the ringing will go away.  For some reason, we're believing it this time.  It just wasn't the original plan.
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Big Cuter's Hoyas were stomped by a team from nowhere, Florida Gulf Coast University.  This puts a serious crimp in our upcoming March-Madness-Watching-Extravaganza this weekend.  I've had to rethink my packing list, removing the Georgetown tees.  He's hurting enough, poor boy.  No need to have my clothing remind him of the fact that his alma mater will not be winning the whole thing, as his pool predicted it would.  His sister's Hoosiers and his parents Wildcats are still in the running, but he's switching allegiances to the FGCU Eagles.

Going along with the theme of this post, I tried to find you a video of the Eagles' victory dance, but Youtube disappointed me, as did the FGCU Fan Website, as did Google and Bing. You'll just have to imagine 7' tall 20-somethings crouching over, flapping their elbows/wings.  It's worth it to watch the game, even if you don't like basketball, to have them warm your hearts.
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I went to a Balance Class at pilates, today.  The teacher is well-trained, the studio was only slightly too warm for my comfort, and I left half-way through.  I can't take all my weight on my right leg while pointing and flexing and tossing my left leg in every direction known to man.  I can't do lunges.  I can't ... I can't... I can't.... when the can'ts got to be too much for me I fled the scene.

I'm not a quitter.  I never leave early.  Yet, there I was, a puddle in the front seat of my car.  I try to avoid situations that remind me of what I've lost.  I wish I'd stayed home today.
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I was all set to make Seret's special salad dressing for dinner, until a perusal of my pantry revealed the absence of apple cider vinegar.  I've come up with many on-the-fly-substitutions in my time, but nothing the interwebs showed me was possible without a trip to the store.

I was already in my pajamas and slippers.  I wasn't leaving the house.  Frozen pizzas worked as a fall back plan, though my mouth was hungry for garden clippings all night long.
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JannyLou needs 30 minutes of grand-kid-sitting tomorrow and I'm happy to help.  Of course, given how my week has been going, saying yes means I can't walk with the kids at Prince.  The time frames overlap.  There aren't going to that many 60 degree days left this school year; my heart is torn.

I could take the kid with me to walk, but that's not much of an adventure for him.  No second grader wants to go to another school on his own Spring Break, after all.
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These are the stumbling blocks I can remember.  I'm sure there have been more.  It feels as if the world is conspiring against me.

I'm happiest when my plans come together.  I'm miserable when they end up in a Jenga-like-heap.  I'd hoped to out-grow this need to know what's coming next, this insistence on making a plan and sticking to it, this desire to have the outcome match my intention.

I can't get over the disappointments.  I'm struggling with the uncertainties.  I'm adrift.

This is my life when my plans go awry.

If the Yiddish proverb* is right, God is laughing pretty hard right now.
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*Yiddish Proverb: Man plans.  God laughs.

5 comments:

  1. Disappointments at the gym, I have had a few. I tried a zumba class. I can dance, I have some moves, but this class made me feel like such a dork and then at the halfway point, the "pros" started chanting about how much harder it was going to get, I left. Haven't been back, not to that class anyway. I use my Wii and dance to my hearts content, nobody there to insult me.
    Keep moving!! Take the kid to Prince, it's only 30 minutes and you will feel better.

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  2. Try another zumba class.... I was just getting into it before bullets stopped me. The class I attended was friendly and no one cared that I couldn't follow along. Then, again, dancing in your own living room to your own Wii is pretty special, too, Ellyn!
    a/b

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  3. It's not exactly Victory Dancing With the Stars, but here y'go: FGCU Victory Dance

    Do you know of the Quora.com Q-and-A site? It's like, not for getting practical questions answered. It's for getting really interesting questions answered -- questions of philosophy, and taste, and deep-background information. (And the answerers almost always use real names and provide credentials for why you should heed their answers.) Regarding the conspiracy of the world against you, I was immediately put in mind of Justin Freeman's answer to this question: "What are the top 10 things that we should be informed about, in life?"

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  4. WOW, JES... I can tell that I'll be spending a lot of time there. Just lost myself for a long time in the answers to the question.

    THIS is what the interwebs should be about!
    a/b

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  5. Quora can sometimes feel like an addiction which one has consciously chosen to adopt. So glad you like it!

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