Stay Flexible

Let me tell you about a day I had recently. Here was my plan: My brother had to have some minor surgery. I was going to pick him up at 7 AM to have him at registration at the hospital by 7:20. His surgery was scheduled for 9:15 and was supposed to take about a half hour. After surgery he would be in post-op for an hour. Then he was to go to "Short Stay" until he ate something and they knew he was stable. We should have been out of the hospital by 1:00 at the latest. Dena asked if I could watch the kids for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Since my grandkids are my greatest pleasure I said, "No problem." I'd watch any or all of them any time for any reason or no reason at all. It was to be a full but great day. I would help my brother out and then my reward would be spending time with the grandkids. A perfect plan.

Here is what happened: I picked up my brother at 7 AM and had him to the hospital in plenty of time to register and to get to pre-op. In pre-op we found out that his surgery was pushed back because there was an emergency. He was not taken back until 11:00. I was informed his surgery started at 11:35. At noon the doctor came out to tell me he was done, everything went great and Bill would be in post-op for about an hour. Later a nurse came over to give me a room number. When Bill got there, he was sore, but awake and alert. His vitals were all good so we ordered him something to eat and drink. That went well so he was allowed to get ready to leave. The nurse had to get his discharge papers ready. THE COMPUTER CRASHED!!! Any chance I had of spending time with the grandkids was quickly dwindling. I was so disappointed and I started getting edgy and anxious. I had to remember to surrender to the situation. I had to recall the Serenity Prayer and have the wisdom to know that this was a situation that I had no control over. It was no one's fault. It was just an unexpected set of circumstances.

After we left the hospital, I had to take Bill to the pharmacy to get prescription pain medication. I got him back to his apartment after 4:00. I got home around 4:30. Dena no longer needed me to watch the kids. She worked around it.

It was an exhausting day, but I believe there is a lesson in everything and everything happens for a reason. So when I got home, I reflected on the happenings of the day. I feel my lesson in this is to be more flexible. It's okay to make plans, but you also have to be able to go with the flow. I share this with you in case you ever have a similar situation. Remember to be flexible. It will save you a lot of stress.

Love, Paula