There is no better feeling than being prepared…right? Some people fly by the seat of their pants….take life as it comes…and seldom sweat the small stuff. I sometimes fly…but it is in a car…as far as taking life as it happens…I moved into that mode when I became a business traveler. I must say I didn’t sweat the small stuff for years…kids do that to us….because “shit” happens often in large amounts especially when nursing!
As my kids grew and I returned to the workforce….I was forced to become more organized….it is a skill that I think motherhood pushes the most unorganized woman into learning. My oldest often tells friends that I was always late…so he and his brother would make up games with rocks until I arrived…(there was method in my madness) Prioritize and organize helped me stay sane as I traveled for my work…procrastination could undo it all. I am a woman who works best under pressure…at least by myself. I can get a great deal accomplish when “under the gun”…so in mid-January I began getting ready for the birth of my daughter’s baby….MY FIRST GRANDSON! I have worked like crazy so I could take time off and help when the baby arrived. Expected due date FEB. 17th….a mission with a plan…GET MY ACT TOGETHER!
Do you know how many things you have to think about when you are leaving your abode to join another? LOTS..I repacked twice realizing that business and dinner out attire were not a necessity for this venue…well maybe just a few outfits in case something unexpected came up…like Olivia’s birthday on Valentine’s day…what a night we would have since Matt was away…definitely paint the town RED!
February is the month I usually work on my taxes….(not really…it happens under pressure…but I thought this year I will be pro-active and do then while I’m with Olivia)….one big canvas bag with all my necessary papers and receipts….not a pretty sight!
Next…technology…you know me I have to take it all…which just reminds me I need to take my Apple TV…
I am downsizing from my house to a bedroom so I decide to limit the number of shoes….Olivia has smaller feet so borrowing her shoes isn’t an option!
Bags packed…house organized…plants watered…I am on top of my game…preening like a peacock….so proud to be so ready. I’m out the door for my last week of travel….the extra suitcase is ready just in case something happens…my daughter SWEARS the baby isn’t coming… so off I go to Marshall, MI and on to Catoosa, OK to work…or so I thought…
Best laid plans don’t mean much to a baby…nor to God’s timetable…this little one decided to make his entrance into this world 12 days early! Ms. Together Tina received multiple text and voice mail messages that I missed since as I left my cell phone in the Superintendent’s office while in a classroom! Now I had to fly by the seat of my pants as flying would get me there too late…driving was the best option…my first baby took 30 hours so I should be good to get there before the hard labor begins…off I go on my five hour drive…which I would shorten….of course! About 55 miles out of Louisville, I receive a call from my daughter…very quiet and calm…letting me know that the baby would be born in 20 minutes and I would miss it…WHAT??? MISS IT…I had been waiting for 9 months to be there….how could this happen….I was the helper…to person whose hand she could squeeze to a pulp since Matt would be flying from CA…tears filled my eyes…I would miss it. Who in the world delivers their first baby in 3 and 1/2 hours…certainly not me, but OLIVIA DID!
For the next 10 minutes tears streamed down my face…why couldn’t I be there…I wanted to help…I arrived at the hospital 20 minutes after the birth…as
I hurried down the hallway to the nurse station one of the nurses who was with Olivia said to me, “You have an incredible daughter, she was amazing.” All of the sudden I got it…this was about my sweet daughter…the one of my three who would cling close to me growing up…the college girl I sent to school in Europe who became independent…the strong woman who carried this baby for nine months (while her husband was away at school in California) was a calm, confident and fearless MOTHER giving birth to Colton Thomas…ALL ON HER OWN.
Our life has a path of its own…I can attest to that…somehow for a moment…I forgot. God (with his sense of humor) reminded me who is in charge…and that even the best laid plans can change in an instant!
Ultimately life is about flexibility…and adjusting to change as it happens!