This Didn't Go As Planned

This was the picture I posted last week

Last week was supposed to be amazing. It was supposed to be calm, productive, and restorative. It wound up being a fraction of those things. 

I had scheduled an entire week off from my "day job". To say that I was looking forward to this week is a significant understatement. I had been giddy with excitement since February 3rd, the day I made this plan. As a working mom with two jobs, having a week off is a total luxury. And, apparently, a total fantasy. 

I'll cut to the chase: during this time I found myself home with two children who suddenly had 2.5 days of school closures. Smack dab in the middle of my luxury week*. The better part of me wanted to go with the flow and enjoy this bonus family time. The other part of me wanted to stay in bed and whine, "it's not fair!" (which I did via text message to several friends.)

But, that's life, right? So I've decided to take stock of the things that did and did not happen:

What I didn't accomplish: 
- Reading two books
- Going to the movies
- Doing my taxes (yes, even during luxury weeks I'm pretty practical)
- Exercising every day 

What I did accomplish: 
- Making family breakfasts
- Setting up my home office (hooray!)
- Writing 3 blog posts
- Scheduling a mammogram (in case you need a reminder to schedule yours!)
- Creating 2 new trainings for aspiring and self-published authors
- Getting a massage (my favorite form of self-care)

Last week was definitely a lesson in expectations. Looking at these lists, it's clear that I still accomplished a lot personally and professionally. But I'm a work in progress and going with the flow doesn't always come naturally to me.

So tell me, how do you handle a "plot twist" in your own life? Comment below!

~ Lauren

*I recognize that the very idea of a ‘luxury week’ comes with an incredible amount of privilege and that this entire post could be considered a ‘first world problem’. Thanks for letting me whine a bit.