curveball

after a few conversations at work today, i noticed that the general theme of our chats is that life doesn't turn out as planned.  you can assume that spring has made it's official debut but then find yourself amidst a hailstorm.  you can expect that your parents will be around tomorrow, just as they are today, but that's not how it always works.  your educational and career aspirations can change, whether it's switching majors in college or sticking with it but landing in a different field or industry entirely.  we discussed our thoughts on being working moms vs. staying at home with the kids and how our views (and those of others) have morphed as the years go by.  we even agreed that it's nearly impossible to keep to a set schedule at the office because requests will come in, patients will call, surveyors will show up, and the list will continue to reinvent and append to itself.

how many times have i heard people say, "that's life," in response to adversity or hardship, or simply when things don't go the way they intended them to?  i used to think this was somewhat of a dopey expression until i realized it's just a way of stating the obvious, laying out the facts.  you could be walking along a path -- steady, peaceful, careful -- then turn the corner and smack face-first into a wall, a roadblock you hadn't seen or anticipated would be there. and then what can you say to justify it?

that's life. 

and we get up, recover, steer back on course, keep trekking along.

yes, life does not always turn out as planned.  but it doesn't mean we should stop planning.