Flexibility, Gratitude, and the Unexpected

I'm noticing more and more the importance of flexibility in life. Maybe that's why I had an obsession with rubber chickens when I was growing up.. they are both flexible and comical, after all. One of the fondest memories I have is of my maternal grandmother hanging a drawing I'd done of a rubber chicken on her fridge. She truly loved and cherished it through our shared sense of humor, and that ability to laugh is what keeps us open and flexible about life. Being self-employed and working from home requires a lot of self-discipline, so today I sat down and created a somewhat elaborate weekday schedule for my husband and I. It's titled "Flexible Weekday Schedule" since we never know what's going to come up from day to day, but I didn't expect to have a chicken-wrench thrown-in the very next day. The Universe has a very big sense of humor, and it's always trying to tell me something!

My husband and I have been noticing the need for specific times set aside to leave the home and do our writing. We have two very independent kids in the home, but home is still a very distracting place. So, we decided on specific days of the week that he and I can go to the local coffee shop, together or separately, for a few hours at a time. My husband is very excited about this, since he has a history of writing successfully in coffee shops. I, on the other hand, write best in bed; don't laugh- so does Woody Allen! I've been writing in bed since childhood, and old habits linked to creativity rarely die. It's all an experiment, and I'm going to see if I can also do well in a coffee shop. We all have our quirks, so it may not work as well for me. At least it will feel as if we're "leaving for work" each day, and give the illusion of productivity. Working from home can start to feel like non-work, no matter how productive we get.

Anyway, right after printing out the weekly schedule and proudly hanging it up on our refrigerator, I got an e-mail from Lee's home care director stating: "..his new school has called for an emergency IEP meeting tomorrow at 1:00. It would be very helpful if you could attend." I felt like laughing at first, but the humor was quickly diverted by the fact that Lee has had a difficult adjustment at his new school this week. He's not been placed in the proper program, and probably needs to be moved to a different school in the district that can better serve his needs. It's difficult to guide and direct staff at a new school when he lives further away, and the primary contact person for the school is the home care director at his new home. It will be good to attend tomorrow, and finally meet school staff face-to-face. I'm trusting that things will get ironed out soon, but we still have an important role in making that happen.

I'm taking a deep breath today, laughing at the idea of schedules, and feeling enormous gratitude for the freedom we have as a couple. We are basically semi-retired. My husband is only a part-time attorney now, working solely from home. He's also been building up an online, passive income that has grown since we moved here. Less attorney time has given him more time for that venue, which includes writing, along with marketing products and services he strongly believes in. We're pretty much able to go anywhere on a whim, and spend every day together. The kids have two parents at home full time.. wowie, how common is that? This lifestyle is the ultimate type of prosperity in our hurried and competitive day and age. Although, it does require more self-discipline, but I say schedules, schmedules! We're hanging on to the darned thing I wrote up today, but plan to use it as a mere guide for the week. It's basically a rubber chicken. The universe usually laughs in the face of schedules!


“Planning is helpful. If you don’t know what you want, you’ll seldom get it. But, no matter how well you plan, you will fare better if you expect the unexpected. The unexpected, by nature, comes unseen, unthought, unenvisioned. All you can do is plan to go unplanned, prepare to be unprepared, make going with the flow part of your agenda, for the most successful among us envision, plan, and prepare, but cast all aside as needed, while those who are unable to go with the flow often suffer, if they survive.” -David W. Jones