My Life, Not According To The Plan

The following is a guest post by Emily at Remodeling This Life.  She blogs about remodeling her family's home from the ground up as well as some fabulous tips and thoughts on living a simple lifestyle.  If you like what you read here, be sure to subscribe to her feed.

If you asked me 10 years ago what my life would be like today, I can guarantee you that I never would've imagined it and may in fact have run the other way screaming. I am not necessarily a planner. I am a dreamer though and I like to visualize where I see myself at certain points in my life. There are big details like marriage and number of kids, then there are smaller things that sort of sneak up on you and surprise you. Those are the things that you can't plan on no matter how hard you try. The best way to deal with them is to adopt the eternally positive and hopeful attitude that life is still  pretty good.

For me, not only have I found out that life is still pretty good if it's not what I envisioned, but it's even better than I could've hoped for. By having life not go by the book, by following our own path and playing our own game, I have found that life is that much more rewarding.

We've been through our fair share of struggles that have done nothing but make us stronger. For us, I am not even sure what the plan was, but I know it was not what we've gone through with a huge move and a home remodel and marital trouble. But the beauty of it all is that life is still pretty good. Not only pretty good, really good. So we don't have a fairytale perfect romance, we don't live in a huge house or have a big paycheck. By having things not go according to the plan, I have found that those things don't matter. What matters are things you can't hold. Moments, feelings, laughter.

My husband asked me the other day what I would want to do if I found out today that I am dying and only had a short time to live. I think he was hoping I'd say I'd sell everything and sail around the world with him. While pushing my daughter on her swing and watching my son play in the yard of our humble little home, I simply replied "just what I am doing right now, right where I am."