Delight

The angel card I drew for today is "delight."  Well, that's not entirely true.  The first card was "forgiveness" and I made the executive decision that that word does not fit my day.  The feeling of delight does fit.

Then, in thinking about the last two weeks, I realized that the words are two sides of the same coin.

The last two weeks have been the trifecta of life lessons.

For the first nineteen years of my life the best thing about any holiday, event, project, or trip was the anticipation, the possibility.  Things never worked out.  Never.  Even when I thought things came off without a hitch there were consequences for the goodness.  That was the way it was with my family.

Anticipation.  I still love the anticipation. 

But over the thirty-seven years I have known Ken I have learned that sometimes things do turn out right.  In fact, more often than not whatever I have been looking forward to is better than I could have ever imagined.

The last two weeks have been the realization of what, at one time, was only a dream.

It started with spending copious amounts of time with my daughter.  That's always a treat but this time we had goals in mind for working on her house, and we exceeded every one.  I used to fear finishing a project because the finished product did not live up to my expectations.  Not true this time.

Her kitchen is beautiful.  Perfect?  No.  Beautiful?  Yes.

First lesson:  Do the best I can and be happy with the results.

In the midst of all the "house" work, my car died.  There was nothing to be done to fix Lily May.  I have been anticipating buying a new car for a year and actively looking for six months.  I was enjoying the anticipcation.  Every person I know could have bought a new car and I would have been just as happy to anticipate when my turn would come.

Then I had no option but to make the purchase.  I was apprehensive.  It turned out that the choices were limited, only three cars on the lot fit our most-basic criteria.  And they had a red one, which is the color I've wanted from the beginning.  Before I knew it, I owned a brand new car.

Second lesson:  What I have been anticipating really can be as wonderful as I hoped.

While all of that "life" was happening, I was supposed to be getting ready for Ken and I to travel to the west coast for two weeks.  Any other time I would have spent those two weeks preparing for the trip: cleaning the house from top to bottom, completing every item on the home maintenance list, shopping for items that needed to be replaced, and packing and repacking the suitcase.  There has been no time to do that.  Two nights ago I was on the phone with my son and looked down at my Birkenstock sandals, my go-to shoes all summer.  They are looking sad, still in one piece but looking very tired.  No matter because there is no time to shop for shoes.  They will get me through this trip.

Third lesson:  Enjoy the anticipation and be flexible enough to fold in the unexpected.  Life happens.  Go with it or I will miss all the good stuff that is happening right this moment.  In the end, things will work out just fine.

Ken is right now registering the new car because the temporary tags run out while we are gone.  The packing is done and the flights have been confirmed.  My daughter is going to keep an eye on the house.  Everything else will keep until we get back.

I have been anticipating this trip for months.  I just know it's going to be "delight"ful.