Expectations

I learned something this Valentine's Day.  Something about expectations.    :-)   My husband surprised me with Flowers (on the counter with a card at 3:30 in the morning); I planned some fun themed food including Heart Pancakes; made a great dinner and everyone got some little gifts.  Seems perfect right?

Expectations set by kids are sometimes hard to achieve.

I learned today that my kids expect a celebration for a Holiday.  Not just some food and a gift but to really celebrate.  I had to think about where this came from and realized it came from me.

In past years, I did a lot more planning and put together lots of fun things like crafts, snacks, I ordered fun t-shirts and spent time making it out to be fun all day long.  Somewhere along the way I lost that desire; that ability to put things together.  It's a mix of being too busy, still trying to dig through the surprises of grief, and homeschooling that have nixed my creative planning excitement.  Oh, don't worry, I have Pinterest boards aplenty with ideas enough to last years but I have struggled with getting them off the boards into creation.

In reality, St. Patricks Day is one of the most fun holidays for me to prep for so I've decided to use this is my saving grace.  I'm going to start some planning now.  We have fun things we always do (like hide Rolo Candies which the boys are still convinced the Leprechaun hides!) but I want to make it more of a day of celebration.  No "real" school, just learning activities related to the day.

On a broader scale though, aren't we all guilty of setting expectations and then feeling let down when they don't happen?  I've struggled with that for my whole life. I think it comes from being a planner.  I plan and plan and plan but then when my plan doesn't work just right, I get the let down of that unmet expectation.  I've gotten better with this through the years thankfully.  I'm so thankful that Jesus isn't an expectation He just . .. is.  He is always near; He's always thinking of me; He has my best interest in mind.  I'm slowly learning to put my plans in His hands and trust him with the result - or maybe I'm really trusting Him to plan for me and I just accept what comes.