......agenda

Yogis,
This week I held my second annual Camp Nana. Two grandchildren were arriving on Tuesday and would stay through Friday. I decided I needed an agenda. A morning routine and then at least two activities planned for each of the days that would take us out of the house. I figured evenings would be filled with a firepit, one dinner out and bedtime routines.

I had it all mapped out……

I could visualize each day. The trips to the nature center and the mall. Lunch in the eatery. Visits to Glen Echo park and some time at our neighborhood pool. I’ve got this.

Tuesday’s firepit with the roasting of marshmallows went as planned. The agenda though began to go a bit awry on Wednesday. Where I thought the nature center would be a couple of hours, the indoor section has new summer hours and only opens on weekends and with 90 degree heat and air like pea soup, there was only so long any of us wanted to be outside.

We headed home and played a full game of Life.

The trip to the pool was going great. The water pleasant as everyone practiced their floating abilities and perfected underwater handstands. As expected, the lifeguard blew the whistle at 11:45 for adult swim. Right as we headed toward the steps and discussed having snacks while we wait, a large clap of thunder sent us scurrying for cover. Twenty minutes later thunder was still rumbling in the distance. We were soaking wet.

We headed home and played a full game of Life.

One of the mornings I announced to the kids the day’s agenda and my grandson asked ‘what exactly is an agenda?’  I launched into a description, picturing my Xerox days and the importance of agendas,  but as I spoke I was reminded how an agenda should always be viewed as a loose framework. Something that expands, shrinks, changes or is ditched all together as life dictates. Holding on too tight only causes suffering……..as my granddaughter experienced while crying in the car when the heat once again beat us down at Glen Echo park.

We headed home and played yet another full game of Life.

In the game of Life you move ahead, you stop, you lose a turn, your house floods, you end up in a career you aren’t crazy about or you find yourself in debt. But you also have children, win the lottery, make a good salary and never know where you will end up next. Its all in a spin of the wheel…..or in our case the whim of mother nature.

We had fun at everything that did fall in line on our ‘agenda’ but the moments like our impromptu drum party, planting some green bean seeds and watching the bluebirds bathe joyfully in my birdbath would not have happened if we had held rigidly to the schedule. Nor would three full games of Life.

By the way…..I lost all three games, yet I still feel like the winner.

Your turn,
SARAH