Expect the Unexpected

For those who know me well, they know that I am a planner. I like to plan a book events months in advance, I even plan weekends to do nothing. What this means is that occasionally, plans that have been made have to change and flexibility is needed to adapt.

This last week was a serious test in going with the flow. On the Sunday before Christmas, my son woke up with a stiff neck and by the afternoon he was very sick. We monitored it over Sunday and Monday, but by Monday evening we were making a trip to the hospital where we spent the next three days, effectively changing all Christmas holiday plans. Instead of watching the Lion King at the Princess of Wales Theatre downtown on Christmas Eve, my son was having a series of tests to determine if he had meningitis or influenza. My husband brought Jack’s presents to the hospital and he opened them on his hospital bed before heading downstairs for an x-ray. And although this was not the Christmas we had planned or wanted, our family spent time together as best we could.

My son played chess over video chat with my father and hide and seek with his cousins over FaceTime. We had phone calls with many of our family members over those three days. We also watched the Lorax several times as this was the comforting movie from when he was little that helped him rest. Early Boxing Day morning, we headed home, tired but happy to have a diagnosis of waling pneumonia and a list of antibiotics to pick up at the pharmacy. When we were finally at home and my son was starting to feel better, he said that he had a good Christmas. I had been worried that he was going to be disappointed that he missed out on the Christmas Day festivities at my parents house or sleeping over with his cousins, but I think because we were still able to communicate and not feel as isolated, we were still able to have Christmas with family.

So while I was planning on sharing about my goals for 2025 this week, I haven’t had a lot of time to think about them this week. I know that I want to do more plein air painting next year and I am considering participating in the 100 day project again this year. I would also like to add e-commerce to my website at some point next year and I have some ideas for events.

These are some of the goals I have just thinking off the top of my head and after this last week, I am feeling the need to be more flexible with myself and take more time for goals setting, so this may be something that I share more of in the future.

As I close out this week’s blog post, I would like to wish you a very happy holidays and wish you good health and happiness in 2025.

Laura