Bonus Days

So, we aren't supposed to be here. We're supposed to be in Wilmington NC right now, enjoying some time at my aunt's house, doing All The Field Trips I so ambitiously planned a few weeks ago when all was well and I, apparently, had more energy.

Alas, our wonderful Easter/Spring Break plans got sapped by an insidious disease which infected first my youngest and then subsequent members of my family. Consequently, Easter was a quiet, low-key day at home, but a day in which I still had hopes for a speedy recovery and a contained outbreak. By yesterday, I knew that was not to be and began making calls and adjustments. The planned trip began getting shorter and shorter, All The Field Trips cancelled, and the agenda drastically altered.

And now we sit, and wait, and hope that by tomorrow or the next day we can still get away. I have to go for part of the trip as I have a research commitment that involves other people and quite a bit of planning. I sent a text to my husband that went like this, "Another kid is sick. I'm going to the beach Thurs/Fri regardless."

But here's the miraculous part of this vicious disease zapping my well-laid travel plans. We've gotten bonus days. Days that literally were not spoken for in any way because we weren't supposed to be here. And because they weren't spoken for it means my weekly agenda in my to-do notebook that I live by? That page? It's empty. I think that possibly this has never happened before.

Now the Type A in me was tempted-- so tempted-- yesterday to start filling it. And, I will admit, I did spend some time doing some She Reads stuff yesterday while my sicklings watched a movie. But beyond that I didn't revamp my writing schedule so I could write extra words I hadn't planned on writing. I didn't turn to the page ahead of this blank one and find stuff to move up. I. Just. Left. It. Blank. This is still quite amazing to myself even as I write this.

So how have I filled these bonus days?

I have done a lot of reading. But only stuff I truly want to read.

I've slept. Napped. Rested.

I've not felt particularly urgent about much of anything. Except tending to my kids, especially the sick ones. But that's about it.

I'm enjoying these bonus days-- and resisting the urge to fill them back up again. Or pout because life hasn't gone according to plan. One of the things I'm learning about life as I get older is that it rarely does. And the best we can do is try to find the bonus.