Sometimes Things Don't Go as Planned…

And That's Okay.

Even the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

- Robert Burns

So you’ve planned it all out: you’ve made arrangements that satisfy your schedule for the time, place, and duration of your morning reflection. You’ve even come up with a way to occupy the kids for a whole 5 minutes (or more!) while you sit for your first few sips of something warm before the day really begins. With a comfortable sigh, you take your first bite of cereal and open your journal.

If your morning continues anything like mine did today then you will understand, all too well, the implications of the above-cited quote.

A thunderous scream permeated the air as a second voice whimpers in the background. With a mad dash, I assess the situation to be no more than a borrowed crayon without permission and an uproarious struggle to get said treasure back. After a serious scolding, - both ways! You canNOT take something while someone else is using it and you canNOT fight the thief while screaming bloody murder to get your item back. - “Just get mom…” I say as a realization occurs to me.

It’s too quiet.

Where’s number three?! In a cinematic display similar to the prolonged “NOOO” of a slow-motion attempt to prevent the inevitable, I ran to the dining room just in time to have the privilege of picking out Cheerios from my tea. Let’s be honest, it could've been worse; no one was hurt, nothing was destroyed, and the kids were all getting along again.

It took a while to get back on track with my morning routine and it didn’t quite feel as fulfilling as it did before - since now my cheerios were soggy and my tea had crumbs - but I took the time to remind myself of all that I have to be grateful for and moved on toward a better tomorrow.

Now, this story just goes to show that although having a morning routine is beneficial to the progress of your day, it is not the be-all and end-all. Things will get in the way sometimes, it won't always go the way you planned, but knowing that you'll have another go at it tomorrow is part of its magic. Nothing is set is stone and every decision you make, every way that you choose to respond, will contribute to how your days follow.

We wound up having an absolute blast after the cheerio-tea incident by celebrating the turning of the season as Autumn activities brought corn tosses, hot chocolate, jumping castles, fun concerts, and so much more. We were so tired by the end of the day that our morning mishaps were long forgotten and we all snuggled in front of Disney movies with heaps of popcorn long into the evening.