Okay, Listen Here

Okay, Listen Here

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I Wasn't Expecting That



Welcome to the tulip tree. We hope you are not confused; today is Wednesday and you are usually reading a lovely thought provoking blog by Katherine Bone. This week, since Cheryl is on her way home from the BCS championship game we switched some things around a bit and I am blogging with you this week on Wednesday. So this is probably not what you expected when you clicked here to visit us....


This leads me to my topic: the unexpected. Tonight, I was invited to dinner by some friends who were cabin crazy. I said I would go if I could come straight from the gym. "Sure come on!" they said.

I arrived at the restaurant thinking that I was meeting my three close friends, but when I rounded the corner (after falling outside on the ice so I was sort of rattled) there was a HUGE table of people. My face clearly reflected my surprise since they all laughed at me. I joined the group and made sure they understood that I had come straight from the gym. After I calmed down, it turned out to be a lot of fun.

There are some times when unexpected is bound to happen. I tend to think that anything unexpected is going to be bad but I am learning that often this isn't the case. Sometimes unexpected means something good. For example, the snow days this week are turning out to be a great bonus. Recently Pantster and I received a rejection and we are looking at taking this manuscript to a different place that we are very excited about. So again, an unexpected bonus from a negative situation.

I guess it is sort of like that old platitude--a door never closes unless a window opens. While I am a "the glass is half full and oh, what a pretty glass it is" sort of gal, I have never really bought into the whole idea that doors closing on my dreams can be a good thing. Maybe that's because I don't want to try to climb through a window.

Have you ever made plans only to find out that reality had a different idea? Did the new reality turn out well?




11 comments:

  1. Oh! How strange it is that it's Wednesday and I'm not blogging. LOL! Seriously, this is such a great topic, Stephanie, and I'm glad you're blogging today!

    First, let me ask you if you were hurt when you fell on the ice. Not a fun thing to do.

    Second, Katy Perry sings about doors closing in her new song, Firework.

    "Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
    So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road."

    I'm so drawn to Perry's lyrics for one reason or another but mainly because of positivity in her lyrics, glass half-full kinds of songs.

    We all have a road to walk. Sometimes the journey is long, sometimes short, sometimes there is a fork in the road and we're not sure which direction to take, but the path we choose is the one we were supposed to travel in the first place. Make sense? For we will not be who we are, if we do not take the road we choose.

    So I wish you happy journeys as you open up another door. Shine like the moon, Stephanie!

    "Baby, you're a firework
    Come on, let your colors burst
    Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
    You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

    Boom, boom, boom
    Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
    It's always been inside of you, you, you
    And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry about your fall on the ice. I hope you are okay.

    Life is an adventure with all sorts of doors and windows opening and closing. I tend to view them as signposts along the way. Enjoy your journey, Stephanie. You are right where you need to be.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you had a nice evening Stephanie and hope you didn't hurt anything when you slipped.

    I'm not a fan of surprises mainly because it throws me and I'm never sure what to say or do. But I'm working on my 'glass half full' skills this year. I don't want to waste any more negative brain energy on things I can't change. See..that sounds good doesn't it?! Now I just need to learn to apply it! :-D

    When the other door opens it's going to be a much nicer door!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Morning to all you early birds...
    I am fine. My fall didn't hurt anything it didn't even break the skin on my knee. Remember I fall all the time. I have learned to laugh and bounce back up like a rubber ball. Thanks for all of your concern, I should have said in my post that I was okay. :-)

    Kathy-Those lyrics sound good. I will have to check Katy Perry out. Oh, is she country? That may be why I don't know about her.

    Crystal-Thanks for the wise words. I like the idea of signposts along the way! You are so smart.

    Sherry-I am with you on surprises throwing me. But maybe we can learn new skills in our old age.
    Yes, youi sound very positive in your post.

    I think 2011 is going to be a great year for many of us!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good to know you didn't hurt anything more than your pride, Stephanie! ;)

    Katy Perry sings Pop music with a bit of HipHop thrown in sometimes if she's singing with someone else. She's been known to sing with Timbaland and Snoop Dog on occassion. :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm Baaack! Dead tired and unable to think. No, I do not like surprises of any kind. I am too much of a control freak. Most of the surprises in my life have been bad so I can't recall any that turned out well.

    Glad you're ok Stephanie! I took a few falls the last snowstorm.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad you're back, Cheryl! We've had great fun in the snow.

    Okay--the unexpected.... When I joined RWA and Heart of Dixie, I didn't expect to get involved or make friends. It's not that I am incapable or either. I just wanted to help out by moving tables and making an occasional cookie. And I had more friends than I had time for as it was.

    Well--here I am on the board of HOD with some true friends of my heart. And I am happy about it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The unexpected is the story of my life. Nothing really goes as planned, yet I continue to plan and plot. The best thing about moving to AL--something I didn't expect to happen ever in my lifetime--is meeting the wonderful people here. And my new friends via Heart of Dixie are high on my list of wonderful surprises. Great post and glad you didn't hurt yourself when you fell on the ice!

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cheryl! So glad you're back. I'm sure you'll have entertaining tales about the BIG game when you blog tomorrow. ;)

    Well, you should have known that someone as genteel and friendly as you are, Jean, would become the toast of HOD. (I'm extremely glad you wanted to move tables.) :D

    Christine, I believe I wondered the same thing myself before we moved here. I agree with you about HOD. We've got such a fantastically talented group of writers in our midst, all of whom, are willing to share what they've learned.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cheryl-Glad you are back. Sister, you are preaching choir here about that control thing.

    Jean-Now that I think about it, when I started re-enactment I never expected to make a friend for life like you. That was a good unexpected!

    Christine-While I may be sloooooowly adjusting to some unexpected things in life I don't think I could live a life of the unexpected. I admire those of you who can roll with the punches so graceful

    Kathy- I will certainly check Katy out. She sounds right down my alley!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Cheryl, glad you're back! War Eagle!!

    Jean, I am so glad you moved tables and made the occasional cookie! And your cookies are Awesome by the way!

    Kathy, I love Katy Perry!!

    Stephanie, yep, this old dog is always ready to learn some new tricks! :-D

    ReplyDelete