Ruined Routines

I've come across a number of people who tell me because something is different everything is ruined.

Traditions seem to get thrown out quickly when things don't go as planned.  The family was supposed to get together, but since one person can't make it, all is ruined.  The family was supposed to be at so and so's house.  Since they're ill and they have to have it somewhere else, all is ruined.

I used to work at a department store.  I had to work holidays.  It was part of the job.  Traditions couldn't be kept.  My husband and I quickly learned that special moments are when you make them, they are not a date on the calendar.

Traditions are made from special moments and special people that we want to keep close.  They can change.  New ones can be created.  Old ones can fall away.  The most important thing is that the people you care about know that you care about them and you make time for them.

When the schedule doesn't go as planned, we take another look at the schedule and rearrange.  We don't throw the whole event out.

Cancer and MS have changed everything for me.  Everything will always be different than I imagined. It was only in searching for the blessings that I pulled out of that slump.  I couldn't focus on the changed routines and rituals, but on what I still had and the blessings that hadn't changed.