Did you ever find yourself in the middle of something and realize it's not at all going as planned? I had that happen a couple of nights ago, and not only didn't it go as planned, it turned into an epic fail on my part.
The setting: playing capture the flag with my wife and four kids, in the dark (with flashlights). The grass was getting wet and slippery from dew. Teams had been picked, flags were set, and we were underway. About 10 minutes into the action, I made a bold run through the opposing territory, being chased by my wife. (Capture the flag is kind of like tag, with a jail and home base, and you need to find and capture the opponents flag and make it back to your side without being tug...)
What happened next was a blur of poor, 40-something, physical coordination. Running full-tilt and trying to avoid the front boundary of our field-of-play (which is defined by concrete curb along our street) I found my shoes slipping in the wet grass, becoming a tangle of feet and legs in "I'm-too-old-for-this-and-it-won't-end-well" fashion. I went headlong over the curb and out into the street (which is paved with a very fine, gravely oil-and-chip surface.)
After what my wife described as at least two or three rolls and somersaults I found myself on my back groaning, with sharp pains shooting through my hands and a few other places. The kids came running, and all gathered to see if they had gotten dad killed. The damage assessment yielded two gouged palms, and one knee, elbow and shoulder missing a good bit of skin.
They collected my flashlight and me and all helped me hobble into the house for a home-nursing patch job...the game was obviously over.
I was in a lot of pain, but kept chuckling at the scenario and my inept wipeout - lots of apologies were offered (from me for wrecking the game, and from the kids for almost getting me killed). A couple of days later I'm very much on the mend, and so glad we invest in family time the way we do. While it didn't go as planned, we have a great memory of the wild game of capture the flag that we shared.
A power pantry wellness lifestyle is like that -- taking on life's opportunities with some drive and passion, alongside people you really care about, and seeing where things go. It may not go as planned, and you may even end up with scars along the way, but you'll have rich experiences and great memories to show for it. Go find some experiences you can dig into with gusto this week, and see where you end up. For us, the kids say that next time we'll play in the daylight...
By the Way
"Go at life with abandon; give it all you've got. And life will give all it has to you."
Norman Vincent Peale
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