Best Laid Plans

I love the following quote by John Lennon, so much so that I Googled it and read the Wikipedia entry before writing this to get the exact wording and original usage, since it's one of those often used expressions that people tend to mess up. 

'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.'

It's from the song 'Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)' which was on Lennon's final album, Double Fantasy. His line is one of the guiding principles in my life. When I start projecting more than a short time in the future, or relying on several things to fall into place before something else can move forward, I always tell myself 'Whoa....this won't end the way I want it to.' I'd rather enjoy the process than try to direct it, and trying to realign the universe is both exhausting and futile. I'm more of a seat-of-your-pants kinda girl. Do the parts you have to turn in to others on time, and let the rest fall into place. Which is why I can live in Key West. Everybody down here is on some similar plane. The 'Type A' people of the real world would go nuts.

All of my zen and good intentions have certainly been put to the test with our kitchen renovation. I am proud of myself for getting through it without completely losing it, although I will admit there have been a few times I've been close. Because in my life of daughter raising/Brownie leading/school event planning/2nd grade homework photocopying/t-shirt selling/Box Tops counting, I can leave the details of each activity behind by walking into my sanctuary....my little island home. Until my sanctuary looks like it blew up. And is quite dusty. And we have to use paper plates and plastic cups for eating around the coffee table. Then, well, I may get A LITTLE TESTY about those plans that were made and those dates we were hoping for. My husband may have replacement words for 'a little testy' but those words might not be appropriate for this format. 

Yesterday the countertop people came down from Miami to make a template for my new quartz work spaces. They won't be back for 10 to 15 business days, but it was still a day for celebrating because we got through all the heavy construction to get to that point. The next two weeks will be focused on the fun stuff, the smaller, detail projects, the ones I've been waiting for. Painting, wall paper, putting stuff in its new home....that kind of thing. And after the quartz is installed, the tile back splash....ta da! For fans of HGTV's Fixer Upper, I am approaching the part of the project where Chip and the crew leave, and Joanna and the kids walk around the house putting lovely things in all the right spots. Finally. The week without water in the kitchen, the food pantry in the living room, the take out meals, the dusty foot prints all over are all part of the process.

I took a hard look at my calendar yesterday and had to laugh at some of the things I had planned/offered/promised to do in the upcoming weeks. I regrouped. Because even though I had hoped I would be ready to host a jewelry trunk show in two weeks, I won't be. Thank goodness I booked Mari's 10th birthday party at another site (even if I did have to move it ahead a week due to Fantasy Fest nudity.....more on that next blog post). We've got school off on Friday, two birthday parties this weekend, Brownies next week, multiple Halloween events, Mari's birthday party, Veteran's Day, and Brownies again, ending with the school's Fall Festival on the 14th....did I mention I was chairing that? But things will quiet down after that. I swear.