Inside: What happens when plans change unexpectedly, and questions about everything from boots and bird-watching to cooking for two and switching airports in NYC. ~
“Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans.”
I’m pretty sure this is not the first time I’ve quoted these lyrics by John Lennon in this space. Chances are, it won’t be the last.
This statement basically sums up my current state of affairs. I was moving in one direction, but circumstances dictated a sudden shift. I’ll spare you the details for now; it’s a temporary situation and everything will be OK eventually.
Ripple Effect
That said, it’s got me thinking about what happens when our plans change. Oftentimes, it’s simply inconvenient. But it can also be disappointing. Sad. Uncertain. Expensive, even.
I’ve felt all that in recent days; perhaps you have too.
We could expend considerable mental energy questioning why our plans had to change. But a more helpful alternative is to focus on what we need to do now and trust that God will take care of the rest.
He always does, though His idea of working things out doesn’t always match up with ours (seems like I’ve said that here before too).
All Kinds of Questions
Speaking of questions, my friend Linda asked some wonderful ones in a recent blog post, which prompted me to pose some of my own this week. Hers were thoughtful and thought-provoking, while mine are random and partly related to pictures I’ve taken lately. I’ll be looking forward to reading your answers in the comment section.
• • •
I saw these boots at a boutique the other day. Round the toe a bit more and lower the heel, and I’d totally wear them. How about you?
This little flower brings me joy every time I run past it on the sidewalk near my house. It probably takes a little extra effort to mow around it, but I’m glad the homeowner lets it be. Would you let a volunteer bloom in your yard, or would that drive you crazy?
Backyard Birding
One Sunday morning we looked out the window and saw two huge birds right by our pool. We wondered if they might be eagles, but it turns out, they were hawks.
Over the next few days, one or both of these birds came back a few more times. With their huge wing span and fierce-looking talons, they even grabbed the attention of our daughter who thinks we’re old because we like birds. Are you a bird person too, or do you think backyard bird-watching is a sign of old age?
Friendly Strangers
I’ve been working on this post in the lobby of a hotel in Northwest Arkansas. My AirPods are in my ears, and my iPad, phone and water bottle are spread out in front of me. Yet nearly every person who walks past me still makes eye contact and smiles.
I don’t know where these people are from, but it warms my heart to think that humans are still friendly, at least in this particular city in the mid-South. I don’t want to get too personal with a question about whether you like to smile at strangers, so I’ll ask this: Do you work in hotel lobbies or would you be more productive in your room?
Practical Help
From a practical standpoint, the aspect of empty nesting that currently holds the most questions for me is cooking for two. I’m pretty sure Joanna Gaines’ isn’t going to release a cookbook on the subject any time soon, so maybe you can help me. If you’re an empty nester who loves to cook, how did you make the switch from feeding your whole family to feeding two most nights?
Finally, one thing that has made sending Lilly off to Spain a little easier is knowing that we will be going to see her in a few months. Our travel itinerary on the way there includes switching airports in New York City, from LaGuardia to JFK International. Which leads me to my last question: If you’ve ever done this, do you have any advice for us about the best way to accomplish it?
That’s enough questions for now. Please answer as you see fit in the comments—and feel free to add a question or two of your own.
♥ Lois
When our plans change unexpectedly, it's often inconvenient. But it can also be disappointing, sad, uncertain and even expensive. Share on X When our plans change suddenly, we do what we have to do and trust that God will take care of the rest. Share on XP.S. I’m linking up this week with Inspire Me Monday, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.
36 comments
I love when you guys do question posts, it’s like you get to know everyone on a more personal level, and confirms our blogosphere friendships.
I really appreciate you sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friend.
I’m glad you like the question posts, Paula … that’s really helpful to know. I like them for the same reasons and hope to do more in the future. 🙂
Hi Lois,
I’m sorry for the sudden shift and am praying for you as I type this. Love your photos!
Blessings to you,
Tammy
Thanks so much for your prayers, Tammy. Hugs, friend.
I would definitely let the lone flower bloom as long as it would! 🙂 They are a sign to me of hope when they come up unexpected. I’m sorry about your unexpected thing, but hoping it all works out for the best. I’d have trouble concentrating in a hotel lobby; I prefer the quiet and minimal distractions when I read or write, especially more so the older I get. 🙂
I love how you look at the lone flower blooms, Lisa–as a sign of hope. I think what helps me concentrate in lobbies and busy libraries and such is playing music in my AirPods. That helps me pretty much tune everything else out. Although I have to say, the hotel lobby I was in recently also had music playing, and that got to be a bit much! 🙂
Hey Lois, I’m praying for you in the sudden, temporary shift, both for a resolution soon and for peace in the process!
In answer to your random questions:
-I’m not a glittery kinda gal, but I’d cheer you on if you were wearing them!
-We have a crazy volunteer bloom in our yard and affectionately call it our “weed tree”
-I must be old, because I like watching backyard birds
-I like a mix of both the lobby and the room! Different scenery helps.
-We mostly cook for two, and largely just always make two or more meals out of one. Many weeks I’ll make a basic grilled or skillet chicken one night, planning to use the rest of the chicken for another meal with a sauce added for a totally different flavor. Also – finding freezer friendly recipes and tricks. You can bag rice in portions for two to freeze and reheat. 😊
Thanks for your prayers, Bethany. Everything is OK now … I’ll have to share the story with you sometime. I love your cooking-for-two strategies. Once I have some time, I’m hoping to give this all some more thought and come up with some intentional plans for us. Using one meat for two meals is a great idea! Also, I don’t think I’m old, so you definitely aren’t!! Hugs, friend.
I don’t think I’d wear the boots, I’d be more prone to traditional cowboy boots. Yes, I enjoy stray flowers in the yard. I have to say I live alone, but it’s still so difficult for me to cook for one when I’m used to cooking for many. Great questions.
Visiting today from G&T
Glad you liked the questions, Paula. I might try to do a post like this occasionally … it’s been a lot of fun to read everyone’s answers. Hugs, friend.
Saying a prayer for you and your transition.
Thanks, Lauren. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences in this blog post. I always appreciate your insights and the questions you pose.
Those boots… oh no 🙂
Regarding cooking for two people, I’ve found that cooking for two days at a time can be quite convenient. What’s interesting is that on the second day, I like to add some fresh, extra ingredients to change it up a bit. It not only saves time but also allows us to savor those delicious flavors a bit longer.
Keep writing and sharing; I look forward to more of your blogs!
Warm regards,
Aritha
Haha, Aritha … good to know you are not into sparkly footwear! 🙂 Adding fresh ingredients to the leftovers is a great idea … I need to remember that. Thanks for your encouraging comment, friend … it’s always wonderful to hear from you!
Hmmm … not too sure about the boots, probably not. Every year we have these random wild poppies in our yard and I can’t bear to pull them out. I do enjoy watching the birds in my backyard and would be thrilled to find a pair of hawks. I’d probably be working in my room. Although, I would not be opposed to working in the lobby. Cooking for two, I don’t usually manage it. But we enjoy meals just as much as leftovers. So, it just means I don’t have to cook tomorrow!
That’s a great perspective, Donna … leftovers just mean “I don’t have to cook tomorrow.” I love that you let the wild poppies bloom–I’m guessing they are beautiful!
Even after many years, I still haven’t mastered cooking for two, Lois. Especially when it comes to soups. But I freeze the leftovers in containers enough for two. 🙂 I absolutely love that volunteer flower left to bloom! And bird watching is definitely not only for older people. I have a granddaughter who even took a class on bird watching and loved it. 🙂 Love and blessings to you!
Trudy, it warms my heart that your granddaughter took a class on birdwatching. 🙂 I’m glad to read everyone’s thoughts about cooking for two and realize that it may take some time to get used to it, and I may never master it, but we will still not go hungry! Love and blessings to you, my friend.
I love this post and your questions! So here are a few answers 🙂
1) Sudden shifts. Changes. I am not a fan but I’m learning to trust God.
2) I don’t see myself wearing the boots but I would love them on others! And my granddaughter would sport them proudly.
3) I love volunteer blooms. In fact, my granddaughter and I dug up a few volunteers and put them all in one huge pot on our patio for us all to enjoy. It is amazing how the planter filled out and has brought us all delight.
4) I’m not one to sit in public alone. However, put me in a store and I smile and converse with anyone. I’ve often been warned to just go in and not talk to anyone.
5) I still am not very good at cooking for two. In fact, I have given up trying and my husband takes the leftovers for lunch.
6) Even though I grew up in NY, I have no suggestions for switching airports.
7) And bird watching … we have so loved it this summer! There seems to be so many more birds this summer in our yard and overhead than previous summers. The hawks have been unreal and actually been down on the grass in our yard. They are amazing to see. We think they nested in a nearby tree as we have seen young ones too.
I’ll close with adding … this month I have come to learn I need to let go of my expectations and see life from God’s perspective. My expectations can often let me down but His perspective never will. Blessings to you and yours!
I love all your answers, Joanne. That’s so cool that you filled a planter with volunteers and it filled out so nicely. As for your shopping habits, I can relate 100 percent. In fact, I read your answer out loud to my husband and we both got a good chuckle out of it. He knows what you’re talking about. 🙂 I guess if you live in New York you’d never have to switch airports–you’d just go to one or the other, right? I love what you are learning and think that I am in the process of learning it too. Hugs, friend.
Sudden shifts can be hard to manage for all the reasons you stated and also because I love routine and knowing as many details as possible. It sounds like you are adjusting so I applaud you.
As for your sitting in a hotel lobby question, I would probably try to find a quiet corner or even better, I love writing at coffee shops.
I love writing at coffee shops too, Mary. The atmosphere AND the aroma! 🙂
Wait a minute…switching airports! I skimmed over that at first and had to go back. Yikes. I have no advice, but I’ll pray for you. You have so many good questions to respond to here: 1) I don’t think birdwatching is an old person thing. Even if it were, that wouldn’t be a bad thing, and besides, when are you old? Anyway, I’m 38 and love watching birds. They’re fascinating and beautiful works of God’s art. 2) I’m not sure I could work in a hotel lobby, unless I turned from the distractions. I love how you smiled and kept working. I probably would have gotten irritated. 3) I don’t have an empty nest per se, although we’re down to the last child coming on the weekends. He’s a senior in high school, so that may happen soon. Anyway, my husband is autistic and vegetarian. I am neither. He is very restricted in what he can and wants to eat. A few years ago, we actually started eating separately. I mean we eat together, just different foods. So I’ve been cooking for one. What I’ve been doing depends on my mood. I divide things like meats in the freezer, so I can pull out what I need. I can choose to either cook what I can eat in one meal or have leftovers. Sides tend to be more than one person can eat, but those can be leftovers where you have a different star the next time. Frozen vegetables are great in the big bag, since I can pull out whatever I want to cook right then. The other thing I do sometimes is cook extra. A lot of meats and soups can be cooked and then frozen. Then you have a homemade, convenience meal for later, and you can pull out for just two people or whatever you need.
Ashley, thanks so much for answering all my questions! I’m glad you love watching birds too. And you’re right–“when are you old?” Definitely not when you’re 38 or 52. I think I need to take cooking lessons from you. 🙂 You definitely have it down to a system, which is very inspiring. (I like systems, can you tell?)
JFK to Laguardia – I hope you’ve given yourself lots of time because these airports are not near each other. Youll need to take additional transportation – subway or uber. I don’t recommend but I’m sure you’ll make the best of it.
I’d wear the boots just because!
I’ve worked in lobbies; people watching is a great distraction.
Thanks for your questions.
Hi Nylse … I think we have a six-hour layover in New York, which seems like it should be enough time. My daughter is very excited about getting to see the city, so at least she’ll be able to mark that off her bucket list!
I cook for six- we eat it say on Monday and Wednesday then I freeze the last portions for a week or two down the road. I try to do this so I only ‘cook’ 2-3 times per week!
Sounds like a great plan, Sarah … thanks for sharing!
I’ve wondered, too, if I’ve gotten “old” because I love bird watching. I’d say “no” but I have become wiser in understanding life is fleeting, and it’s important to take time to stop, see, and watch the beauty around us (that includes birds)! I’ve been a single-gal empty-nester for many years, so I pre-planned meals and froze a lot, so I didn’t have to cook everyday. I did find, though, that I didn’t have much to offer if someone just dropped by. It was fine balance to minimize waste, but still keep enough for sudden visitors. I recently re-married to a man with two-adult children still at home, and I am adjusting to a very full refrigerator again!
Congratulations on your recent marriage, Lynn! That sounds like it would be an adjustment in many ways, including the very full refrigerator. I hope you are enjoying this new season of your life. And I love your perspective on bird-watching. 🙂
Well, you certainly have me curious about what’s going on and what’s causing the shift! I’m afraid I don’t respond to sudden shifts very well. I like knowing what is on the agenda. But God doesn’t often tell us these things ahead of time. I know He’s in control and has a reason for all things and will ultimately work everything out the way it’s supposed to, but it takes my thoughts and feelings a while to catch up to that reality.
I’m afraid I’m not a boot person, even though I grew up in TX. 🙂
I love the persistence of that volunteer plant. I don’t think such a thing would bug me unless it was in an inconvenient place.
I’m definitely more productive alone. I don’t even have music playing if I’m doing anything on the computer. It’s neat, though, that so many people were so friendly while you were working in the lobby.
Since my husband works at home and we both enjoy eating leftovers for lunch, my cooking hasn’t changed a whole lot. I have learned, though, that there are a few dishes that make so much that we get sick of them after a while, or they spoil before we can use them. So I try to save those for when the kids are here. I used to get Taste of Home magazines, one of which was Cooking for 2. I clipped a few of those and put them in their own notebook. I also have a Pinterest board in that category. But I haven’t actually consulted them much. I should look over them again.
That’s so neat that you’ll get to go see Lilly in Spain! That seems odd, though, about switching not just planes or airlines, but airports. Does London have something like Uber or public transportation between airports? I hope a Londoner or international traveler can help you out with good advice.
It’s so fun to read everyone’s answers to these questions, Barbara. Each person has a different take things and I love it. I’m not a cowboy boot person, but I do wear other kinds of boots quite a lot in the winter. I need to check into the Cooking for 2 magazine. And also try to remember what we all like so that when the girls are both back home, I can pull those bigger recipes out then. I’ll bring you up to date about the shifting at our writers group on Wednesday. 🙂
I freeze leftovers if we can’t bear to face them right away. And sometimes I give them away. We have been empty nesting for a couple years and I still can’t seem to make less than 6 quarts of anything.
And I couldn’t pull off the boots, but I would WANT to!
Haha … I hear you about those boots, Michele. I love them but my feet would definitely protest! I totally understand the experience of not being able to face leftovers right away. 🙂 I’ve been halving recipes for a while now–ever since Lilly went to college, I think. That helped, but I probably going to have take it further now. I love the idea of freezing the leftovers; I’ll just need to start paying attention to whether or not what I’m making is actually freezable. Hmm…
I went into a bit of shock when I saw my name perched here … and all I can say is that your questions are absolutely fascinating, friend.
No thanks to sparkly boots, hotel lobbies, and airport logistics … and yes please to random flowers and someone cooking for me for the rest of my life.
xo
I love all your answers, Linda. 🙂 And I think you’re on to something with asking questions in a blog post … they spark some fun and interesting conversations, don’t they?