Having a Plan

Every morning we wake up with a plan, right? Riiiiiight.

We all have a plan on just how the day is going to go, how we will accomplish all that we have on the to-do list that we have created. We have a sense of confidence, a sense of control, and a feeling of pride, as we set the pace, make the decisions, and mark things as "done" on our lists. 

Wow. It really is great to be so in control and so planned out. 

HA! Please!

From when you're going to the grocery store, to when you're going to get the laundry done, to what color you're going to paint the dining room, NOTHING goes as planned.  And when you add in a child...from your birth plan forward, more nothing, and that is OK. Better than ok, it's perfect.  

See, life does not come with a Rule Book, and neither does parenting. The stress of trying to be perfect is far out weighed by the pleasure of being relaxed.  We have pressure on us to have the perfect job, to be the perfect parents, to do things as the proverbial "they" do, and so we plan. Then our plans fall apart or get delayed or go completely off route, and we put even more pressure on ourselves because we think we failed.  

There is no failure when you wake up and start the day and make it all the way till bedtime to get ready to start it all again. You did it, and you did it well!

Always remember that no matter what happens, no matter how the baby kept you up all night the night before the big meeting, no matter how you got all the kids in the car on time only to realize the oldest didn't have shoes, no matter how the dog got wet paint paw prints all over the sofa (Seriously, my house, last week), it's all good. All the non-planned "oh-no" moments become hilarious stories later on. So, relax, you're doing great. You're better than awesome, more perfect than flawless, just always have a plan. A plan not to have one.