"Things may not turn out the way you planned... they may turn out better"

 I had published this on my stealth blogs, so I didn't mention the tg angle about what I had hoped and dreamed of as a little boy and how things have turned out, but, I think that you'll all be able to pick it up :)

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For anyone who has ever tried to plan an outing with me, you know that I really like to have a plan in place.  However, while I always stress the importance of having some sort of plan or purpose, I’m not set on following the plan in precise detail.  Rather, for me, I see the plan as sort of a backup, in case fun, spontaneous things fail to materialize.

Why have I spent the last hour or so pondering this quote?  Earlier this evening, I saw “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” in which one of the main characters expressed this thought (or something to that effect) at the end of the film.  As I walked out of the theater, wandered through the labyrinth that the Century City Mall calls its ‘parking lot,’ and drove home, I started to think about my day (and weekend), realizing that it had not gone according to plan but turned out far better than I could’ve hoped.

Saturday, I had either planned to leave Faire early (and relax on the couch) or very late (staying for a later event in the evening).  However, Sunday evening, as things wound down for the day, friends invited me to join them for dinner in the area.  The result?  I discovered a yummy (and interesting... Indian AND Mexican food under one roof?) and had a chance to get to know some wonderful friends even better.

This morning, I woke up and decided to try and find Kings’ tix for tonight’s game, then meet a friend for a quick dinner before heading home.  However, when that fell through, I went to Universal Studios to preview the Transformers ride (3 TIMES!!!) and got to spend the entire afternoon with one of my dear friends shopping and at happy hour and..... seeing “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” instead of “The Avengers” (which sold out).  Sure, I didn’t see my Kings sweep the Blues and move onto the next round of the playoffs, but I still was able to listen to the game on my phone at Universal (and saved about $100+ on a ticket to boot!).  More importantly, my friend (who is like a sister to me) and I had a chance to catch up on the goings on in our lives (over drinks... very important!!!), to giggle, chat and gawk at pretty shiny things... and to see a movie that we both agree was far more enjoyable and touching than super heroes and explosions.  Quite honestly, while my plan A wouldn’t have been bad, my plan B was far more wonderful than I can describe.  

However, the notion of “Things may not turn out the way you planned... they may turn out better” doesn’t just apply to my day, it applies to my life.  As a child, I could not have imaged that I would be the fabulous and driven woman that you all know (and hopefully love) today.  The Little Me imagined that, by now, I would be married with two kids (my daughter Madison and my son Steven), living a 4 bedroom house a few blocks from the beach, have a Beagle named Max and work as a doctor (or an astronaut).  Taking inventory of my life today, I’m still single, sleep with a teddy bear named Bear Bear and work as an attorney for the County.... in essence, none of what I dreamed as a child has come to pass.

Does this mean that I’m a failure?  Or that I’m leading a miserable existence today?  While my life today isn’t perfect (and I’m sure that I’ve complained to a few of you about some of those imperfections), it’s far richer and meaningful than Little Me could’ve ever imagined.  I firmly believe that Little Me, knowing the struggles, adversity and pain that I have overcome and the friendships, relationships and experiences that I have (or had), would be so proud of Me today (especially after seeing my Hello Kitty and fabulous shoe collections).  However, that being said, Little Me would probably like to see me dating or married... or at least sleeping with something other than a fluffy teddy bear...... which actually brings to mind another fun quote from the movie...

“I’m single by choice.... just not my choice”

I certainly need to work on that... but that’s another blog for another day.

PS.  If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"