Plans Change.....

When I was growing up I made big plans. My two best friends and I were going to graduate from high school...and immediately jump into a car and head for California. I really can't remember why that became our destination, other than it was just so far away from the refineries and reality of our current lives. OH YEAH, now I remember. I was going to be an actress (yeah..go ahead and laugh..it is hilarious). C was going to become a big,high powered entertainment lawyer, and V was going to marry Erik Estrada. We were going to all be roommates and live in a fabulous apartment and have fabulous lives... uh...yeah.

The reality of life usually interferes with our plans. I ended up marrying young and working at a local bank for the better part of 15 years. C never did go to law school...she was a paralegal for awhile..and now she's a personal trainer. V recently moved back into the area after being away for many years, she was the one that made it all the way through college and got her master's degree. She married a military man and has lived all over the country....she never did make it to California, though.

Sandra had big plans, too. She had planned on working until retirement age...and then retiring and then doing a lot of traveling. A diagnosis of Lymphoma at age 45 and several rounds of chemo derailed those plans. But when the chemo was over...and she was in remission...she re-met her high school sweetheart, they were married. They did some traveling. Lived in Mississippi, and Kentucky, and now Missouri. This time, when the Lymphoma resurfaced, she had a partner to help her in the fight.

M was coming home late one night on his motorcycle...he had an accident, trashed the bike as well as his knee. He was very nearly dead. Strangely enough, that accident was a wake up call. The bike got rebuilt, and so did he. He's healthier now than he's been in years. He even has a new relationship.

We all have plans. Only we can make them come into fruition. But it's important to keep your eyes open to what the fates have in store for you. The hardest paths often have the greatest rewards.