Have you ever noticed...?

Have you ever noticed that nothing seems to work the way that you want it to?
All philosophical bullshit aside, there are simply no certainties in life save one - nothing ever truly goes exactly as planned.

Take my day for instance:  I spent the day with family.  Check one for predictability on the Easter holiday, but things aren't always what they seem... I spent the day sleeping in due to my massive headache (a broken nose will do that to you) and then checked on my grandmother (totally the early bird gets the worm type- has now become the second mouse gets the cheese type) before showering, getting dressed, and going over to my cousin's to see if she needed help getting the meal ready for all of us.

She didn't need help (okay, that part WAS predictable) so I made a couple minor trips to the grocery store in order to collect essentials for the meal.  In there came a shocking minor bond with my second cousin (who is adorable and who I can almost think of as an adult if it just wouldn't make me feel so damned old) over an argument (and a guy) that we have discussed in weeks prior.  Yes, times have changed; yes, I have assumed too much.
So store trips are over and the family gathers for a meal and we spend some time together and then it's all freaking over.  In the mere space of an hour we had spent enough time as a collective to be ready to end our time together so damned quickly.  My second cousins ran off to do their own thing (I'm not enough of a cougar yet to pursue what she and I talked about earlier) and my cousins moved to the responsibilities of their lives as hostesses and spouses.  Meanwhile, a friend and I decided to spend the evening in the company of each other and so we, too, went our own ways.

He and I went to his place, had a couple drinks, had a couple laughs, told a couple stories, and, in general, did everything but admit that the one thing that makes each of us happy is the company of the other.  Granted, I already expect that when I am with him, I have grown accustomed to it, but I didn't expect it on today of all days.

So have you ever noticed that things never work out just like you planned?  Take my friend and I, for instance:  as much as he and I make each other happy in every way possible (don't get me wrong - we haven't wandered too far down the physical path) we just can' admit that we would have to deviate from the plans that we both have in order to make things work properly.  So, instead of risking the fact that something would have to go differently than we thought it would, we just ignore the simple feeling of joy and elation that we feel in the company of each other.

I blame the world that we live in.  Instead of looking for the good in everything, we are taught to wait for the "way things are supposed to be."  Instead of hoping for the best, we are always planning... planning kills hope, by it's very nature.  I hate the world for making us behave this way.  It's unfair and it's something that no one should have to succumb to.

"Just because a door is closed doesn't mean that it is locked..." (author unknown)  That quote is something that I am trying to keep in the front of my mind these days.  You never know where life is going to take you but you have to be willing to try and follow it through.  That's what those words say to me but have you ever noticed that no one else is willing to check out the options?