A friend of mine often says, “Man plans, God laughs.”
Robert Burns once wrote:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men,
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
(The best laid schemes of Mice and Men
oft go awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!)
My stepson is getting married in October in Florida. I ordered my dress in February while we were visiting him and his fiance. I was proud of myself for getting this task done so soon! I like to get things done early.
It didn’t arrive in July as expected, nor in August. “Don’t worry!” The good ladies at the bridal shop told me. “You have plenty of time! We do this all day long!”
It finally showed up on Saturday.
Then I had to find undergarments. This sounds simple to most people, but I live in rural Washington state. I’m not exactly around the corner from a mall. Worse, I have to drive on a floating bridge to to said mall an hour away, and the bridge is now undergoing repairs. It’s either closed or down to one lane, creating lengthy traffic delays.
I ordered something from Amazon, but it didn’t fit and had to be returned. I ordered again and thankfully, had better luck the second time.
Now I need to get the dress altered. “We should be okay,” she says…but we’ll see. It feels like one delay after another.
In a world filled with poverty, a looming climate crisis, and political folderol, I realize these are, as they say, “first world problems.” I’m not ungrateful for my life…it’s just been one of those weeks.
I’m revising What She Knew for a spring 2016 release. It sounds like plenty of time, but it really isn’t, with all the editing, proofreading, and formatting that has to be done in time to get it in reviewers’ hands three months before the release date. I’ve chosen the end of March to make it eligible for a number of contests. I was making great progress last week on revisions, proud of my organizational skills.
Then I got pinkeye.
I woke Saturday morning with a red eye and blurred vision. I decided it was allergies and ignored it. The next day I was worse…and couldn’t read at all. Off we went to the walk-in clinic. I have eye drops now and am on the mend, but I lost a few days’ work time in the process. Even now, when I put the drops in, I have to take a break until my vision clears.
This, I know, is just life. Stuff happens all the time. The best we can do is march forward and keep our sense of humor. It’s just one of those weeks.
Hope you have a great time at the wedding next month. And best of luck with the editing.
Thanks! Should be fun. I’m so happy that my MS came back from the editor without some comment that causes the whole story to fall apart (my biggest fear).
You must be very encouraged by that. Good luck!
First world problems, maybe, but they can loom large! Hope your eye gets better soon and the wedding is wonderful.
Thanks. It’s when they start adding up that I get a little freaked out.
I know, me too.
At least you’ve tried. It’s not like you’ve waited until the last possible moment to start these things. Those people make me crazy. That they took so long–not your problem. You tried to get it all done early.
Yeah, those people make me crazy, too. I used to be married to one. 🙂
We went to the seamstress this afternoon. She’s hemming and hawing (pun intended). The shoulders are lace and sparkly things, and are too big. She had to spend a lot of time figuring out how she’s going to fix it. I’m starting to wonder if I need a Plan B dress.
Look at it this way… everything has to go crazy now so that when wedding day comes all will be wonderful. Plus, I’m sure your book revision will go well while you are barricaded in your apartment in NYC.
Now, I too have an eye infection and dry eye. I have to put this Vick’s consistency type gel in my eye and then add drops every two hours during the day… so I am right here with you with blurry vision! Get Well!!
Wow, we both got hacked and an eye infection in the same week! Kinda strange, eh?
I’m trying to get my ms back to the editor before we go to Florida. I’ll do the second round in NYC. So far I’m still on track!
I’d rather hear about your first-world problems than political folderol…
Good point! In general I stay away from politics on this blog. In the past, I “went there” a few times, and it didn’t go over well for my readers or me. I think I’ll keep this a politics-free zone.
I tried political blogging for a while on another blog, but didn’t have the stomach for it. I’m not sure anyone really wants to go there anymore.