One great example of this is what I've lovingly dubbed Adventure Thursday.
A few weeks back I realized that as the summer was beginning to wane the list of small(ish), Montana day-trips that I had planned was not getting much shorter. I had been so busy with the longer, more involved trips, as well as the (unending) work of trying to create my own small business, that these little (yet important) adventures were getting pushed to the wayside. I was feeling pretty disappointed in myself for letting this happen and I realized that I needed to pencil in some time in my planner specifically for this reason.
Thus was born Adventure Thursday. One day a week when I will not work, and the day (well, at least a good chunk of the day) will be devoted to heading out somewhere new with my kids.
I had high hopes of excited children with smiling faces who were having so much fun that they couldn't possibly whine or argue (why would they when they are having the time of their lives). I imagined them falling into bed early in the evening because they were so worn out after a day of adventuring in the mountains with fresh air. I even thought they would be so thankful to me, their loving, thoughtful mother, who had put together such a special day for them. I pictured myself tucking them into bed and then sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine in my hand, feeling blissful after spending a full day winning at motherhood.
Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, things didn't go quite as I had planned.
The problems started before we had even left the house. This kids couldn't agree on where we should go to get some items for our picnic by a lake. They whined and argued, while I got frustrated that they were more concerned with getting what they wanted rather than being thankful that they got to have a special day (lunch included).
The problems continued when we got to the trailhead...or what I thought was the trailhead. Things didn't look quite like I remembered from hiking in the area several years back. Our destination wasn't even on the map at the trailhead. The kiddos were starting to question my knowledge about where we were and therefor if I could even be trusted to keep them alive. But we continued on...we might not be were I intended, but we were at a beautiful trailhead and damnit we were going to have a good time anyhow.
Next up we ran into some hikers that I would have very much liked to punch in the throat. A group of older ladies who I can only assume were from out of state...and here to experiance the great outdoors. They talked loudly and obnoxiously, they questioned several parenting decisions I made within the span of minutes that we were in earshot of each other, and talked down to me quite a lot when they found out (thanks dear children of mine) that we were not at our intended trailhead (which was quite ironic as it turns out that they weren't either).
But, after hiking in for a good mile or so, my frustrations started to lead to gratitude. The trail that we were on turned out to be quite beautiful, and I started to feel so appreciative that the universe had led us here. I was reminded that even though I am very much in charge of my life, I am very much not in charge of what the world will put in my path.
where we ended up:
I was starting to feel very zen about the whole thing, but pre-teens have a way of putting an end to almost any zen you think you find. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that all was lovely until we drove back down to a nearby lake to have our (much fought over) picnic lunch. It was at this peaceful moment that the Tween decided it would be the perfect time to lay out (in bullet point form) all the ways in which I had fallen short as a mom that day.
And I swore that was the end of Adventure Thursday.
Luckily my husband was there, on the other end of the phone, to talk me off the metaphorical ledge, and after a weeks worth of time passed by I decided that I was feeling strong enough to once again venture out with my children for a day of wandering off the beaten path.
And I'm so glad I did.
This time, wether it was because the universe really owed me a solid, or maybe because my husband threatened to ground the kids until school was back in session if he had to talk me off the ledge again, things were much more as I had envisioned them. Although part of that is probably due to the fact that I had some time to adjust my vision...bring it a bit closer to reality. There were far fewer complaints from the very beginning. The kiddos seemed honestly happy to spend the day together and even the time in the car drew very few complaints. I felt happy and so in awe of the beauty we saw.
the following adventure Thursday
One of my favorite sayings goes something like this:
Right when you think you've got it all figured out, is right when it will all start to fall apart.
I'm thinking the universe needed to remind me of this once again. I had it a little too planned out in my head. I thought I knew what the ideal Adventure Thursday looked like. As cheesy as it sounds, I needed the reminder to go with the flow, to relax and try to enjoy the journey, not to force it.
As my husband said (whilst talking me of aforementioned ledge), "babe, you took the wrong road and ended up hiking somewhere new...sounds like an adventure to me!".
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