Weathering the storm.

I am not sure whether I was appropriately warned there would be days like these. Days where your best laid plans and good intentions all get swept away in one intense downpour. In earnest, I should have been wise enough to see them coming.

My personality test says I am a protagonist. Truth be told, I am a planner and an organiser. I always have been. I recall my favourite games as a child were mostly about me telling people what to do. In Kindergarten, I always negotiated to be the mom in the playhouse of our French class.  I was always the teacher when we played school in the mock classroom set up in our basement. If I wasn’t telling someone what to do, per se, I was strategizing; convincing my brother that Barbies could somehow coexist with GI Joes and dreaming up A&B fashions with Samos, which was probably more about the office set up and corporate structure than the actual quality of the outfits we put together with our “fashion plates” toy. Fast forward to motherhood and some (who shall remain nameless) may even say I have the tendency to lean towards controlling. (Remember kids, I always have your best interest at heart)!

So, what happens when things spiral out of control? What do you do when your world is no longer how you had imagined? What if your strategy has gone haywire?

Well folks, let’s get things back on track and start by doing some laundry. 

What?! I can hear your scepticism. How could something as mundane and tedious as laundry actually calm the chaos? For me, it’s the first step in regaining control. Think about it. Problem = dirty clothes. Solution = sort the soiled clothes, add to washer and throw in some soap. Then, at the sound of a bell, transfer to dryer. The grand finale being the clean dried clothes being neatly folded and put back where they belong. Aha! Problem solved! A semblance of control over one aspect of your life. 

While not all of life’s messes can be cleaned up as easy as doing laundry, the underlying lesson taken from my treasured laundry room can be transferred to all problems; big and small. It’s all about perspective and attitude. Take control over what you can: your thoughts.

This came to me this morning, as the tail end of hurricane Ida swept in over Atlantic Canada. The storm loomed dark and large over our Seaside cottage and the remainder of our idealistic beach vacation week. As I hurriedly gathered the cushions from the outdoor furniture and my husband deflated our SUPs, my immediate thoughts and feelings were those of disappointment, distress and deception. This was not what I envisioned when, realizing that we were all in need of a reset, I clicked “reserve now” a few short weeks ago. I only saw long walks on the beach, daily paddle board sessions, bocci ball tournaments in the sand, long hours on my beach chair with my feet tucked nicely in the warm sand reading something other than caselaw and closing each day with cocktails on the deck while watching the setting sun. None of my vacation visons had included 5 adults hunkering down in a little cottage, while weathering out severe rainfall warnings, high winds and dropping temperatures. 

But such is life: storms blow in, courses get altered and plans change. 

So, after a short pity party and assuring all was safe from the wind and rain, I purposely threw myself into the storm. I laced up my trusted Asics and went for a run. In the pouring rain. I shook up my preconceived notions and washed away the negative thoughts about the weather ruining our last few days away from our regular routine. The rain couldn’t stop me from running and I was not going to let it stop me from squeezing all the goodness out of this must needed vacation. For, after giving it some (positive) thought, when did I ever have a whole day ahead of me, with no obligations, no pressing agenda, no lifts to give, no plans – just time to settle into a comfy chair in sweatpants and a hoodie? In our hyper-scheduled and hectic lives, we are often wishing for more hours in the day to check off everything on our unceasing to-do list. This morning, as the rain pelted down on me, I realised that Ida was indeed giving me a bonus vacation gift: the luxury of time. Time with no expectations. Time for me to think, read, write and just breathe. You see because even on vacation, I had plans. They were less rigid than my regular daily routine, but the structure was still there. Until the rain started. Then the plans were washed away and I was left with a clean slate. To fill or leave blank – it was up to me. 

Changing our attitude can help us gain insight and also help us regain control of situations that seem unmanageable. Mind over matter. Putting positive spins on challenging circumstances. It can indeed help us to weather whatever storm unexpectedly blows into town.

So, there you have it friends – courtesy of Hurricane Ida and a fresh outlook; a new blog by Grit&Grace (by the Sea).