“Perfect plans…”

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Shared by Breanne Smedley

I remember learning about oxymorons in middle school. Where two contradictory words or statements somehow end up in the same phrase.

It was fun to think of them:

Jumbo shrimp
Act naturally
Found missing
Alone together

Over the years, I’ve learned one oxymoron to end up being true, over and over:

Perfect plan.

I love to plan. I like having an idea of what’s going to happen, when.

I like taking the indecision out of the day so that I can save my mental capacity to engage with my family, students, and friends without added stress.

But I’ve found even the perfectly laid plans are never perfect.

This week, I planned to get more sleep. It’s been a bit brutal adjusting to my new 4:15am wakeups the past few weeks.

So, I planned to be in bed around 9pm to allow me to feel a little more refreshed in the morning.

Not too much of a problem there. 9pm rolls around and I can’t wait to snuggle into bed.

Thoughts of a solid 7 hours of sleep and waking up refreshed fill my mind.

And the past three nights, my plans have been thwarted.

Specifically, around 2am.

It would be natural to think our 11-month-old baby might be the culprit for the 2am wakeups the past few nights.

Nope. Charlee stays sound asleep.

Instead, it’s the 21 year old cat, Ruby.

I adopted Ruby as a kitten when I was 9. I’ve known this cat longer than anyone in my life outside of my family.

And now, at 21 years old, I think the lights are dimming a bit.

Like clockwork, she’s on our bed at 2am, meowing.

Brett and I wake up.

“Does she have food? Water? Catbox empty?” We ask each other.

Check, check, check.

She’s pretty needy these days, maybe she just wants to be close to us.

I try to snuggle her. The meowing doesn’t stop.

At this point, I’m getting frustrated. “Shut up, Ruby!”

So much for more sleep!

It continues, until we have enough and lock her out of the room.

Poor cat, I think. Then make a note in my mind that we need to take her to the vet, but scared about what we will find out.

The 4:15am alarm goes off. I’m up, but not as refreshed as I was hoping.

My plan didn’t go exactly as planned. We’re having an “off” week when it comes to sleep.

I found, that’s life though.

Setbacks happen. Plans are never perfect. Off-days are a part of the process.

I will choose to not be a victim of it, though.

I adjust course, learn from the feedback, and move on.

And hopefully, get to the bottom of Ruby’s 2am wake up calls!

 

#MindfullyEvolving

#DaringlyResilient

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