My E is for expectations. If you read my post yesterday (which I wrote on Tuesday and scheduled for publication) you know that I had big expectations for my day. Like most times you have big expectations, life steps up and can trough a curve ball. Instead of spending my Wednesday organizing, planning, and scheduling my time I spent it huddled in my bed savoring the dark and a bottle of Excedrin. Tuesday night a migraine crept up on me as a simple project turned into something much more complicated as I manned the busy children's desk for three hours. So Wednesday morning, instead of my expected free time, I just stayed as still and quiet as I could. Good times.
There are many other types of expectations we have for ourselves, our children, and our lives that seem to fall short. What soon to be parent had expectations of exploding diapers, sleepless nights, ER visits, and feeling like you will never be good enough to get it all done? None, every one of us might have known these things were a possibility, but thought our children would be perfect angels and sleep, eat, and potty train just like the experts say they should. Ha! I think none of these experts have ever had children of their own.
When starting school, any job, or joining any kind of group did you expect the grade school gossiping and whatnot that seems to invade any space that holds more than four personalities? If you are married, you expected the perfect wedding, honeymoon, and marriage. And you might very well have it, but I bet even the best of everything had at least one moment that did not meet your expectations.
The same is true in every king of creating or enjoying another person's creation. Reading a book that does not meet your exceptions is not always a bad thing, sometimes the surprise is a good thing. Same when you are writing and your characters or plot takes you somewhere you did not expect. Other art forms hold the same chance for wonderful surprises. Of course, there are the times when these breaks in expectation make you want to toss the source across the room. (I say that a lot, but have yet to actually do it, so don't worry too much). But anything that make you feel, good or bad, is worth reading, watching, looking at, whatever. That is what art it for.
Wow, that post veered off from my exceptions I built while I pondered it in the dark on Wednesday...
Expectations can certainly be deceiving. Yet, the unexpected things in life can sometimes bring the most amazing surprises, so I've learn to appreciate them as well.
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