Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri
Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary
Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net
Recent Posts
- Try
- Becoming Brenda Starr
- Off Beat
- Scattered
- That’s It
- So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What?
- The Spoon
- Sciatica
- Sweetheart
- A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose
- However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time
- After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices.
- As with everything in life, balance is key.
- Slow down, you move too fast…
- Yeah, I know. I have issues.
Syndicate
E me at katy @ ngenius.com
Predictability? Don’t Count On It
I’ve never placed a high value on predictability, and it’s a good thing, too.
Sure, I like my husband to be the dependable type who shows up when he says he’s going to or calls to let me know he’s okay. I love it that, as a self-employed creative guy, he doesn’t decide to blow off work because he can or shirk his responsibilities to his clients or forget to bill them, hahaha.
He knows he can count on me to handle the bookkeeping for our business, to arrange get-togethers with our kids and our friends, to make sure our house, cars, and bodies are maintained on a regular basis, and to watch out for The Moms.
In those ways, our lives are predictable. But in so many hundreds of other ways, um, not so much.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I had no idea when Doug and I got married that our lives would take the path they have. When we got engaged, Doug was mowing lawns for another man’s company, destined to break many otherwise serviceable lawn mowers because, well, he wasn’t cut out to be a lawn guy. He was a brilliant guitarist and songwriter, and soon to be an up-and-coming graphic designer. He just didn’t know it yet.
At the same time, I was a highly-compensated data recorder at a major pharmaceutical company, scribbling poetry on the side and getting in trouble for my distractibility. What “word” chick WOULDN’T be distracted by nothing but numbers, numbers, and more numbers all day long for five grueling years? Still, it never crossed my mind that someday I’d write even one novel, much less attract an agent and have the opportunity to pursue publication professionally.
I’ve grown to believe we do our children a great disservice when we urge them to structure their lives around the probability that events will occur precisely as they plan. We lead them to believe that if they go to college, get good grades, graduate with a degree in a high-paying field, and find a compatible mate, everything else in life will play out accordingly.
That’s just not always the case, though. Often, in spite of a young person’s ducks being in a neat and tidy row that’s supposed to be pointed toward a McMansion and a nanny for the kids, real life comes calling.
Real life is anything but predictable.
I’m glad Doug and I didn’t compose five, ten, fifteen, and twenty year plans, even though I guess by most people’s standards we’d be considered slackers. Honestly, sometimes next week is farther ahead than I want to look. Besides, I’ve always liked surprises, and life has turned out to have plenty of them.
I saw this in an essay by David Calderwood and thought it brilliant: “This lifelong illusion of predictability leaves us woefully unprepared for the abyss of reality.”
Is your life turning out as you thought it would, as you planned (if you planned)? Or has it taken directions you couldn’t anticipate in your younger years?
Would you rather lead a predictable life than not? If so, have you succeeded in making that happen? I’d love to know!
- No, I never would have imaged my life turning out the way it did so far. My life has been anything but predictable. I am a planner, so it's been a struggle at times. I've learned to live with change. It's a great adventure, this life!.
Posted by Suzan on 11/04/09 at 10:12 PM
- I can relate to your post. Actually, I never thought that I'll be a freelancer today. My dream before is to be a high ranking officer in any bank. Even if I'm into business at a very young age, I'm still hoping to pursue my dream. However, it seems like everything don't go according to my plan. Maybe, it's a way of God to let me know what's really my destiny. Who knows, maybe someday, I might fulfill my dream of becoming a bank officer (like my dad), right? But, as of now, I need to focus on what I'm enjoying.
Posted by Arleen Anderson on 11/07/09 at 09:29 PM
- Ha!! Rob wsa studying to be a Dr. What do you mean you are going to become a Naval officer. Spain, we're going to SPain? By the way, you know how I haven't started birth conttrol because I am still nursing? Unpredictible is the understatement of our lives!! And who could have predicted this financial mess and wll the upheaval it has caused. Did I mention that my husband is currently in Germany working? Isn't it wonderful, though, that the God of heaven is always there to help us along the road of unpredictibility!! That the faithfulness of my spouse at 39 yrs is like the sun getting up in the morning. And that the love we have in our family helps each one through whatever current trial they are in be it joblessness or a challenging relocation or a medical scare? How do people without God and/or family manage in these times? I don't know, but I do know that I am blessed by the knowledge that God and His family and my family are there for support. Unpredictable, yes. Unbearable, never!
Posted by Sandi Thompson on 11/20/09 at 03:56 PM
- At first I thought I would end up a happily married stay-at-home mom living in an A-frame in Summit County, CO. A-frame really doesn't appeal to me anymore, but Summit Co. still does. Then I was a single working mom and wondering if anyone would ever want me again (nope, but that's OK most of the time). Now, I'm a grandmother of 3, I've purchased a domain name and I'm trying to figure out how to build a website. Maybe this time it will work out.
Posted by alison on 11/25/09 at 04:47 AM
- Little did I know when I wrote that first comment that I would soon spend three weeks in the hospital, four weeks in a rehab hospital and the next 3 months (not done yet) in physical therapy! But guess what? God's wonderful presence still enfolds me! Carried me and my family through it all.
Posted by Sandi Thompson on 04/26/10 at 04:47 PM
- I was a single working mom and wondering if anyone would ever want me again (nope, but that’s OK most of the time). Now, I’m a grandmother of 3, I’ve purchased a domain name and I’m trying to figure out how to build a website.
Posted by square peg web on 07/01/10 at 01:06 AM
Next entry: NaNoCryMo
Previous entry: It's That Time Again!
