Those life lessons…here they come!
We have a saying in our family: “it’s in the transitions that we lose things!” This saying was born out of actual events like losing iPads, jackets, phones, wallets, and the like as we were traveling.
NOT. FUN.
My husband travels, quite a bit. Traveling is not for the weak. You’re constantly out of rhythm, away from your creature comforts like your bed and pillow, your fridge and pantry, and your regular life in general. Living out of a suitcase and carry on bag, moving from car to airport to hotel and back again.
It’s exhausting. Especially if while on the trip you attended lots of events, schmoozed with lots of strangers, and kept late hours participating in the social aspects of work trips.
Last Thursday, my husband had switched his flight so he could get home a day early. Yay! He’d left on Sunday, so that was especially good news. It had been a crazy planes, trains, and automobiles trip to the east coast.
He arrived late that Thursday evening, after I’d been asleep for a few hours and…
UGGGHHHHHH.
“I left my wallet on the airplane. Well, at least I think so. But I definitely don’t have it.”
OHHHH NOOOOOOO!!!!
Cue the drama. Poor guy was so exhausted he said he felt like crying!
The whole idea to shorten the trip by a day was to make Friday better. To give him a day at home before the weekend, to get back into some kind of rhythm. NOT HAPPENING.
When you lose something like your wallet, a thousand unexpected and urgent tasks flood your list like, well, a flood! Tasks that seep in and overtake everything else that was previously on that list.
So, as you can imagine, our Friday was littered with return trips to the airport, freezing credit cards, canceling debit cards, trying not to fret over the lost cash (who even carries cash anymore?!?), following up with lost and found…
So far, we have heard zero about its location, so either it’s eternally wedged between the seats on some plane in the American fleet, or someone found it, claimed the cash for a Christmas bonus, and threw the wallet away. Yeah, it super sucks, but doesn’t matter at this point, really. We’ve moved on.
There will ALWAYS be drama, unexpected events, and the “schedule shake up” like Boggle or some similar game. You can count on that. The super crappy part is that you don’t know when, and that it often hits you at a low point, making it even harder to figure out how to creep forward and deal with the situation, am I right??
A few suggestions for you:
- Do NOT overpack your schedule. Wallets will get lost! Kids will get sick! People will need things! Cars, houses, and computers will require unexpected/unscheduled maintenance. If your to do list and schedule are already at max-capacity, then any extra tasks and/or events are going to blow you out of the water. Allow some unscheduled time for that all-important “wiggle room”! And if by some miracle no extra drama shows up one week, then woohoo!! Celebrate that like you should celebrate and empty shelf or drawer in your house. DO NOT FILL EVERY AVAILABLE CREVICE.
- Book your self-care FIRST. Or, as you likely know, it will not make it onto the schedule…and then, you might end up sick. Your body and soul need rest and special treatment, so book that gentle yoga class, schedule that extra-long, extra-hot bath, meet a friend to walk and/or have coffee, you need it more than you think!
Reply here and tell me what self care you have booked (or intend to book!!)
A quick PSA: Make copies of your drivers license and credit cards and stash in your “important file” or better, an Organize365 Financial Binder (←-referral link) because then you can easily access the info you’ll need in case you lose it! (I can help you do this!)
What’s a Financial Binder? Check out my Organizing365 referral link to order one!
