the unexpected

I'm thankful for the unexpected surprises in life that have helped me. You've probably had those problems that turn out to be something so good you never could have planned it for yourself, right? You can't tell how much it makes sense until you're in the middle of it all.

I've talked about my transition from an English teacher to a Digital Journalism teacher and Social Media Director, but I haven't said enough about how this big change, hard change, unexpected change has blessed my life.

Things are pretty stressful for me as a single mom with very little support, so anything that can simplify life or make it more enjoyable is a blessing in my book. And my job duties changing did both of those things for me without having to leave the amazing private school and students that I have grown to love. I cannot express how thankful I am for the way things have transitioned. The words aren't enough. But I will say that I was surprised, I have been blessed, and I have learned that I need to learn how to let those surprises take me places without worrying so much. I am thankful for yet another lesson in planning to be surprised.

The unexpected things in my life aren't always so good, but I will say that many of them have been life changing blessings. Friends are another big unexpected aspect of life. You can't plan for meeting someone who turns out to be a lifelong friend or even your best friend. You can't ever be sure if anyone will care enough to stick around after seeing your bad side. And you surely can't plan on anyone loving you enough to stay and be with your forever. But you can plan to be glad when it happens, whenever it happens, and have gratitude.

There's this movie quote that I love that I think about all the time. Maybe you've already read something of mine using it actually, but I'll go ahead and share it again because it just feels like a good thing to do. It's a good reminder to plan for being glad about the unexpected, to treat it like a surprise and not a nightmare. I'm thankful for this quote too, for how it helps me make sense of things in such a simple way: