I don’t really believe that "things happen for a reason." This phrase implies that if something had not happened a certain unexpected way, you’d miss out on something better. So, if things DO go according to plan, does that mean that you missed out on better opportunities? Do you really think your life would be better right now if your plans had derailed along the way? I don’t think you believe that, either.
What I do believe in is "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." If something fails to go according to plan, something wonderful could STILL happen (although nothing beats the wonderfulness of a plan executed to the tee, but that’s just me).
Why am I talking about this? Because I just got handed a big lemon: I missed my flight. I did everything right: I got up at 5am, I made it to the airport at 6, I made it to the gate at 6:20, over an hour before my 7:35 flight. I heard the attendant at my gate say that the Boston flight was right on schedule and we might even board early. I listened to NPR and blogged until my sister, Monica Geller, called me at 6:50, and I talked to her until 7:25 or so. I was wondering what was wrong with my flight, but nobody had moved around me and there were no announcements coming from the booth. I assumed the flight was delayed.
At 8am, I finally had the common sense to ask the person sitting next to me "Excuse me, are you going to Boston?" the response stopped me in my tracks: "No, I’m going to Orlando." I got up in a flash and went up to the counter. There had been a gate change, which I had failed to notice, and I had missed my flight.
This is NOT the first time I travel and this had NEVER happened to me in my life! My eyes welled up with tears of utter frustration and anger at myself for not thinking of double checking my gate while I waited to board. So I’m stuck at the airport until 11:40am CST, connecting in Ohio, and landing in Boston at 6:45pm EST. Compare to my original flight, non-stop, arriving in Boston at 11:00am EST.
So what possible lemonade could I squeeze out of this completely frustrating and enfuriating situation? None that I could think of!!! I sat down and called the leader of my 4pm meeting ask him to reschedule. We had never met before, and he turned out to be a very friendly person. We ended up talking for 30 minutes straight! He’s lived in Spain and Venezuela and he even threw some Venezuelaisms at me, like "epa chama! Vamos a comernos unas cachapas!" I was stunned! He even lived close to where I used to live. By his stories and timeframes, I place him in his mid-fourties. It was a great surprise, and I am absolutely positive that we would have not had the chance to get to know each other this way had my plans gone without a glitch.
So there you have it: you can’t just DECIDE to make lemonade with the lemons. Life also has to provide the juicer.
ina