A Change of Plans

Is it just me or have we had more than our fair share of rain? Okay, I won’t complain about it, however, I will mention that I was a tad disappointed that we had gray weather this weekend.

On Sunday night, we decided to head out to the Kansas City Hot Air Balloon Invitational. We’d had word that the balloons were still going to launch so we loaded into the car. About a block from our house, we noticed that the sky was rather dark. Sure enough, the weather was too questionable for the balloons to launch that evening. No worries, we still had the next morning to see the balloons.

Though I didn’t plan on waking my children up to go see the balloons, I did decide we’d go if they naturally woke up in time. Fortunately, they did wake up in time for us to head to Gardner. Unfortunately, the weather, once again, didn’t cooperate. However, I was determined to at least see the park from which they were supposed to launch. After stopping for coffee, donuts and gas, we headed to Gardner.

We found Celebration Park. It was then that my children finally understood we wouldn’t see any hot air balloons. It was obvious that the launch didn’t happen as there were no balloons anywhere.

I expected my children to be disappointed, but they weren’t. Rather, they eagerly jumped into our next adventure of exploring a new park. Celebration Park is amazing. My children played with a handful of other children who also made the early morning drive with their optimistic parents. We had a wonderful time.

As I reflected back on our Memorial Day morning, I realized I had a lot to learn from my children. How many times have my plans not gone according to my desires and I’ve gotten bent out of shape? Well, I’m not going to answer that. Just know it’s more times than I care to admit. I can’t help but wonder how many times I’ve missed out on the new “parks” waiting to be discovered because I’ve been so concerned about the things that didn’t go according to my plans. I’m so grateful for my children who often remind me of what is really important. They truly are a gift.