I am a planner. This really comes out in me when we plan a ‘get-away’ or vacation. I love to know who we are going with, what everyone likes to do, when all the ‘festivities’ will happen, why we are going, and how things will take place. I want to know that no time is wasted, and that we make the most of everything. Trying to go with the flow, take one day at a time, and being spontaneous has always been hard for me, yet every time I am spontaneous, I have a great time!
When our children were younger, we decided to head for the mountains of Southern California for President’s Day weekend with some close family friends. We rented a cabin, packed up all four kids, and headed up the hill. Once we got to the cabin and got settled, we began planning for our weekend. We asked our husbands what they had planned for Valentine’s Day. Both of the men looked at each other… they had not remembered that Valentine’s Day happened to land on the weekend we were at the cabin. The guys called around to all the restaurants in the small town, but they were all booked up. Hearing this, the other mom and I took matters into our own hands. We had brought valentine decorations, but instead of decorating the cabin, we hung onto them. The next day, we had fun with the kids, playing outside, making heart-shaped cookies, crafts with conversation hearts we didn’t eat, and made as many heart decorations as we could muster up. That evening, we drove around town until we finally found a ‘fast food’ place for us all to eat. We headed into KFC, found two window seats on the street side of the dining area. We brought in a couple valentine tablecloths, set out fun centerpieces, and the kids helped us tape up all of our decorations up on the window. We were the only ones in KFC, so they thought it was fun and funny for us to set up a ‘kid table’ and adult table and decorate our little corner.
We may not have had a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day, but we had a great family day, with some really fun memories. We had a great time making fun of ourselves and our lack of planning, having a great day enjoying family and friends. We had a choice to make, we could stress out over not having reservations at a restaurant, or we could have fun, enjoy time together, and make the most of that Valentine’s day.
“Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” Matthew 6:34