May 14, 2014

“Time is on my side, yes it is”- Rolling Stones

I think in song lyrics. There is always a song that expresses my thoughts.
This song has been rolling around all day long, except I panic as I replay it over and over. Time isn’t on my side. It has dawned on me that in 13 days, Abby and I will be in Spain for our pilgrimage.

The stuff we have gathered for our venture these past couple of months, are sitting in bags in the hallway AND on some delivery truck in route from Amazon.

But, this is the norm. I pack at the last minute. I have the stuff, but I procrastinate when it comes to putting it altogether. I learned how to pack from watching my dad pack for back packing trips with the Boy Scouts and our own expeditions that would last a summer. Everything in sacks until a couple of days before departure and then the living room and the couch became the staging area. A list was made. The scale came out. Everything weighed, and placed together in baggies, organized neatly. Everything had a place.

Such is the way I go about packing. All depends on where I’m going and how long I’m going to be away and how many people are coming along. But everything is organized and has a proper place.

I know it will all come together…but still…”time keeps on slippin, slippin, into the future” (Steve Miller). Even with my optimistic attitude, I can feel the pressure mounting.

See, I’m a school teacher. There are four days left before it is over. Lots of things have got to get done. I make a list to keep me sane and check it off as I go. The problems arise when unexpected things go awry. For example, putting together a class movie and the app isn’t working and the school system won’t play the movie that I made due to broken components in the school system and to further complicate the issue, incompatible systems…enough to make me cry as I can visualize THE movie NOT being made in time for the class show. That is to take place. Tomorrow night. Once again, this is an area I procrastinate in.

But, help in the form of my genius tech principal, steps in and remedies the situation. She figures it out and works her magic and has saved the class movie.

My five year old students are prepared for their opera. Costumes finished and set is designed and completed. Tomorrow night’s opera, movie and dinner theater will go on as planned. Because, I have THE List that was organized, checked off and parents who have stepped up and put things together. “Ask and ye shall receive.”

Things just don’t happen to fall into place. Be prepared is the Boy Scout motto. Being the mom of two Eagle Scouts, I can tell you that being prepared helps a whole lot in life, but being able to adapt, accommodate and remain calm when life throws you the curve ball is what makes all the difference in the world.

Today is my Grandma’s 99th birthday. She is alive and kickin. Grandma is in great health. Good genes. Good work ethic. Good exercise. Good outlook on life. All of these and more have contributed to her age. My Grandma loved to travel (she still does), and her way of traveling is the same way I travel. Get in the car and head out. Camp along the way. Stay with family and friends. Life is an adventure, just go and explore it! But, she too would make a list. Pack lightly. Place things in plastic bags. Organize the items. Everything had a proper place. Be prepared, but don’t stress it.

With examples such as these in my life, I know that it all comes together. No one sees the mistakes made or the accommodations one has had to adapt to or the changes that have occurred. Life is a journey. No matter how well you think you prepared and planned, something will go awry. How one chooses to react, will determine the feeling of success or disappointment.

“Que sera, sera” as Doris Day would sang. And with that attitude, I am back in synch. Buen Camino.