“Let’s schedule a call to talk about our trip to China,” the text from my brother read. After years of planning, Dan and Yvonne were coming to visit. I was excited, so excited, but unprepared. Dan and Yvonne are great guests, so it wasn’t hosting them in my home I was concerned about. It was the getaway we’d talked about, to see another part of China. I’d done nothing to plan it. I wished I had tickets booked and a hotel to tell them about. But life had thrown me more than one curveball and I was off my game. Only thirteen days til their trip and I hadn’t planned our time away.

 I tried to explain, as we talked, but felt lame. Dan hadn’t been to China for years, and this would be his wife, Yvonne’s, first time. I wanted to show them how important their visit was. And I knew if I wasn’t able to invest well, the opportunity would be gone. But I was stressed – planning a trip requires a level mindedness I couldn’t find. As we talked I noticed their feelings were different from mine. They were excited about their upcoming vacation and when I told them about the idea of visiting Yangshuo, in Guangxi province and seeing the famous karst mountains, the ones that fill Chinese art, their excitement grew. We looked at pictures online and were all in awe of the beauty we would see. 

 Their energy gave me just the boost I needed. 

 It was late when I got off the call. I  could barely think straight, yet I did something I’d never done before –  I’m a details person and the world of hotel reviews has turned vacation planning into art form. But there was no time to create a masterpiece. I booked a hotel after looking at it briefly. I didn’t compare it to any around – I just booked it. Crawling into bed, I wondered if I’d been too hasty, but Yangshuo Mountain Nest Boutique Hotel looked amazing, with a 9.6 rating on Booking.com and over 200 reviews. Best of all, there was a mountain right behind. And that’s why we were going, for the mountains. 

 The rest of my booking went similarly. And this vacation felt more like a quilt patched together with scraps than a carefully planned work of art, until the day arrived. 

 Dan and Yvonne were now our guests, and we were all packed, with hotel itineraries in hand. We’d even gone to the train station two days before, to get our tickets. I could, for a time, leave behind the stress, and get some rest. 

 Though the timing seemed overwhelming, I was thrilled to see Dan and Yvonne. And their visit forced me to take a needed break. As we rode bicycles through the mountains in Yangshuo, and stopped to sketch and take pictures of the river, we soaked in the wonder of a place so different than any we’d seen before.

 We all came alive with excitement. 

 Their trip went fast and I was thankful I had pushed through and planned what turned out to be a wonderful time.

Learning From My Mistakes 

 After Dan and Yvonne left, life settled into new routines and I recovered from a stressful fall season. I got thinking, no matter how hard I work there are times that catch me off guard and the weight of responsibility pulls me down – I feel like I’ll drown. What will I do next time life becomes more than I can bear? 

 I won’t have Dan and Yvonne urging me to take a vacation every time life gets hard, but is there something I can do in the downtime, to arm myself?  I went back to a question I’d been asked years ago, by Stephen R. Covey, while reading his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 

 “What one thing could you do…that if you did on a regular bases, would make a tremendous positive difference in your life?” I realized it was time to implement a principle he taught, which I’d learned of long ago: put first things first – do the tasks that are important but not urgent.

 I saw the value of this trait when I first read his book – I tried it for a while, but creating new habits isn’t as easy as some say. I quickly let it go. But the confidence I’ve gained recently in developing the habit of Drawing Daily urged me to try again. And I knew that if I got ahead on my regular responsibilities, it would ease the stress when an emergency came up. 

 Since that decision I’ve done all kinds of jobs that in the past I’d neglected – I’ve organized files and helped my daughter clean the toys from under her bed. I purchased a rod for my closet to replace the one that broke. The clothes were laying in a heap for months, and once the rod was installed, it was like receiving a whole new wardrobe. I felt so good, seeing the immediate benefit of my new habit.

 Yet other days I’ve felt miserable, as the sun sunk low and I still hadn’t had time that was my own, a block of freedom. But that freedom came at the cost of leaving something important undone, which can eventually spiral into crisis. That’s a cost I no longer want to pay. 

 I can’t prevent the unexpected.

 Life gets hard sometimes, there are things beyond our control, and I’m coming to see that’s okay. 

 I still have a long way to go, yet I’m working to order my life in such a way that when the unexpected knocks, I don’t hide behind the couch, I open the door with confidence, not knowing what lies ahead, but knowing I’m more prepared than ever before. 

 And when life settles again, as it always does, I’ll be sure to plan a break – whether it’s a walk in the park, or another memory making trip to the mountains.