Blessing or Curse?

My husband says I over analyze everything. I think of it as planning, or being well prepared. This can be a blessing, (as my principals and administrators think) but my family or people close to me may consider it a curse.

It’s definitely a blessing in my profession as a teacher. All I do is plan! Lesson plan, center plan, schedule plan, floor plan, behavior plan, homework plan, driving plan… My mind is swimming right now with the planning I’d like to get started on NOW for September!

In my personal/family life, it’s mostly a curse! What if the hotel didn’t get my reservation? What if my credit card doesn’t go thru? What if something happens to my elderly mother? What if my daughter messes up? What if something happens to my stepdaughter? What if my husband gets laid off? What if the renters don’t pay the rent? Questions are definitely a curse in my mind, especially late at night.

The trick to feeling peace (well, to me anyway) is to imagine what to do if my plans don’t turn out the way I planned it. What would I do if the credit card didn’t go through? (I’d use another one, or I’d cancel the trip! Make a staycation instead).  If it happens, it happens. I am sure I will figure out what to do. I think this is the way we build character. But just getting there, to that point seems to be the issue. I need to practice letting worry go! So many adages come to mind… Help me change what I can, forget what I can’t change, and try my best. My only hope is other people know what I am talking about. I am going to try better to make sure this planning thing is a blessing and not a curse! I am sure I will have a better summer if I do!

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.                                                           – Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)