A few weekends ago my husband threw a surprise birthday party for me, and had planned for a friend from high school visit for an entire weekend. I had no idea, no preparation time, and was completely caught off guard.

I’m a planner. I like to know what’s going to happen and when. I’m responsible. I’m reliable. I don’t do well when caught off guard. This weekend was a wonderful lesson for me (notice I didn’t say disaster). I was surprised with my friend’s visit right after work, and the worry immediately started. “Oh no. The house isn’t clean/The dog needs a bath/We have no groceries.” And so forth. I even found myself asking my husband (I was laughing when I said this), “Are there anymore surprises I need to know about? I feel as though I need to prepare for them!” LOL.

I had to stop myself throughout the course of the entire weekend and do self-talk to remind myself that I was supposed to be enjoying my time, not worrying about things that I could not control! It was too late to clean, give the dog a bath, and go to the grocery store! There was nothing I could do about it then. I needed be in the moment and enjoy what was going on right then. The purpose was to enjoy my friend! She didn’t care that there was mail on the table, etc… We were catching up & connecting. I am so grateful that I was able to talk myself off the “worry ledge” and be in the moment the whole weekend.

Can you relate? Do you worry about things of which you have no control? Do you get so far into the future with your worry that you miss out on what’s going on in the moment? Miss out on spending time with your children b/c you’re too busy cleaning or working or pleasing others? Or miss out on time with your significant other b/c you’re worrying about “what ifs” even though those ”what ifs” haven’t even happened, but you’re just trying to “prepare yourself”? It doesn’t have to be like this anymore. A great book that addresses this concept is Joyce Meyer’s “Battlefield of the Mind”.  I hope you can find peace and talk yourself off that ledge too. You might find you feel happier (and can roll with surprises!).