Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley, and leave us nought but grief and pain, for promised joy. Robert Burns

The best-laid plans go oft astray. But, what really goes astray are the wishy-washy plans. It turns out I’m a flake, not an intentional one, but one nonetheless. My sister’s Birthday is today and I asked my niece what she was planning for her mom’s birthday. “Nothing yet, but I’ll get back to you.” I hadn’t heard anything by Saturday and my husband said, “We should have a barbecue on Sunday, and yesterday being our son’s first wedding anniversary we set it up.

Yesterday at about two o’clock my niece called me, “Did I get the text about dinner?” I was so busy pruning bushes in the garden I hadn’t checked my phone. Dinner to celebrate my sister’s birthday was an hour and a half away, and my son and his wife would be arriving at our place to celebrate their anniversary in a couple of hours. I apologized to my niece and will call my sister today. I hope we have a good laugh over it and there are no hard feelings.

Feelings are easily hurt and one of the ways we hurt people’s feelings is by trying to do too much. We have good intentions, but people don’t see our intentions they only see the results, a botched birthday celebration.

A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. George S. Patton

On Friday a friend and I were planning to attend the Horticultural Society plant sale Saturday morning. She volunteered to help out at 6:30 in the morning and I told her I probably won’t end up going if we aren’t going together. My garden needs pruning more than it needs more planting. Saturday I accompanied my grandson and daughter to the park. He’s now old enough for the swing and he loves it. Two little girls wanted to pet our dog Lulu and she loved the attention. Then I filled four garden waste bags with dead tree limbs. I didn’t end up going to the plant sale but if I had all that dead wood would still be in our garden.

Next weekend I am at the Bread and Honey Festival for the Mississauga Writers Group so no gardening will get done. My son looked at what I’ve accomplished and said, “You must have worked really hard.” Don’t we love it when someone notices and we get a little credit for our accomplishments, a pat on the back, and recognition in some way?

Can we host a barbecue in July for my sister and niece? I will start planning it now and hope nothing derails the plans. Happy birthday, Sis from the flakey one!

Chaos is roving through the system and able to undo, at any point, the best-laid plans. Terence McKenna

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. E.M. Forster

It’s not your plan that’s important. It’s your ability to adapt to the changing conditions that’s going to determine your success. Jon Butcher

Thanks for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you to everyone that reads my books, and a special thank you to those who leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.

The post Making plans, Celebrating Milestones, and making the best of it when our plans don’t work out. appeared first on Belynda's Books.