I love making plans. Having plans. Keeping plans. I like things to be scheduled, calculated and organized. It's just who I am. But I should know by now that nothing ever goes to plan. Sometimes they can go terribly wrong and other times it works out and turns into something even better than the original PLAN.
For example:
Not long after Dustin and I started dating we had plans to go to a Copeland show. I remember him having some kind of gift card and ended up buying us two tickets. I was so excited to go. To see a band I loved with someone I was starting to love. Perfect combo! My friend was also planning on going with us but she decided to buy her ticket at the door - except the show was sold out. We weren't about to go in without her so Dustin sold the tickets to two girls and we took my friend home. We then drove to the park - 'our' park. It was that night Dustin told me he loved me for the first time. It's funny how a disappointing night can really take a turn for the amazing. And years later I even got to see Copeland a few times before they called it quits. Everything happens for a reason.
My plan was to finish paying off my car. I only had 3 payments left to go and then I could save that extra money for a year or so to put a down payment on a newer car. That's been my plan for awhile now. Two weeks ago I had to pay $300 to have my car fixed. Then last week I had to take it in again. I got the call at work that it would cost approximately $1,000 to fix. My heart just sunk. I called Dustin with tears already starting to form in my eyes. He said we would work it out. We always do. I was reluctantly going to pay for it to be fixed but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a stupid idea. $1,000 for a 10 year old car that's already given me a lifetime worth of problems? Just dumb. I told Dustin we were going to pick it up after I got off work and then we would start to look for a newer used car. That night Dustin found a car online that was a year or two old with super low miles for a price I could afford. I made an appointment for the next day. I was going to buy it. The papers were actually being signed and then it happened - they offered me a BRAND NEW car that was a step up from the one I was buying. Better car. Better warranty. Only $15 more a month but still in my budget. So I took it.
My plan didn't work out at all and yeah I'll have a car payment for awhile but I feel like this is the way it was supposed to go. I'm just so happy I have a reliable car and with a warranty! I've never had either of those things before.
I will still continue to make plans in my head for everything in my life but I have at least learned now that it's ok if things don't work out the way I had envisioned them to. Sometimes there are better plans out there that I never dreamed of.