The next time the children and I were home for the day, I was determined we would repeat our success. “Another vacation day!” I declared that morning. However, things did not go as smoothly as they were supposed to. While I was washing the floor, the baby managed to lumber over and climb into the bucket of dirty water. “No problem,” I insisted, my confidence in my vacation mindset shaken just a bit. I wasn’t going to let a little setback throw me. I even managed a weak smile while I cleaned him off.

I decided that we’d go out for lunch. Things went great ~ until they didn’t. While sitting on my lap, the baby dumped yogurt all over me. He hollered when I wrested the container out of his hand and, in frustration, grabbed the paper liner off the lunch tray, sending my salad flying. While I was cleaning up, his sister stood on her chair, and began to jump up and down shouting, “Look at me! I’m a monkey! I’m a monkey!” (It wasn’t funny then, I assure you.)

The afternoon brought more challenges, including a messy potty training setback and a ferocious temper tantrum. I developed a pounding headache. At one point, I blinked back tears. I wondered if that day that I achieved my vacation mindset was just an anomaly, as rare and wondrous as seeing a double rainbow. It was time to check in and listen to Self. The wry message soon came ~ “Welcome to life on the earth plane.”

I don’t presume to know all of the dynamics that factored into our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, in the words of children’s author Judith Viorst, although, I think I understand some of them. For one, the dynamic Buema, who described in her article of July 20 of trying to force certain conditions, was in play. There’s a subtle, yet real, difference between opening oneself to the possibility of experiencing a smooth flow of energy and demanding or feeling entitled to a smooth flow. I realized that on our magical feeling day I had done the former and on this very un magical feeling day, I had done the latter.

However, I also had to recognize that my reality wasn’t the only one, or the most important one ~ and, it’s a good thing, too. At the end of the day, my daughter said, “Mom, I had a fun day with you.” It had been a magical feeling day for her. I realized the baby had probably had a good day as well. He had laughed his head off when he plopped himself into the bucket of water and during his subsequent real bath. Once he got past his frustration at my taking away the yogurt container, he was his usual jolly Self ~ at lunch and beyond. The children hadn’t developed stress headaches ~ only I had. If my reality had dominated, all three of us ~ rather than just one of us ~ would have had a vacation mindset failure experience.

Also, I imagine that stuff happens and its more powerful and welcome corollary, grace happens, dynamics were at play, too. Not everything that happens must be Analyzed and Understood and Applied in the conscious mind. Much can simply be let go ~ or embraced. And, when things rattle us more than they need to, we needn’t beat up on ourselves, or let it shake our trust in Self’s wisdom.