The Unexpected

I had to catch the bus to a nearby suburb today - perhaps 25 minutes away by car. Sounds simple. It was anything but. I got across the bridge no worries, but when I came to board the connecting bus the driver informed me that he wasn't taking the route that their handbook showed. But the next bus (leaving in half an hour) would be. And I believed him. I had a bit of leeway in my schedule, so I wasn't too worried yet. Time lapse - next bus arrives. Do you go past this street? A blank look in reply. No, we don't go anywhere near there. Getting slightly desperate I ventured Well who does? Number 8 bus apparently did. The one that left while I was talking to the driver. So I took number 7 bus halfway to my destination and ran the rest of the way. I got there in time, but only just; I had 5 minutes to spare instead of the hour I had planned.

This is not the first time something of this sort has occurred. In fact, whenever I try something out of the ordinary it never seems to go quite to plan. I think I've accounted for everything, taken all the factors into consideration - and there's always something else. Please don't think I'm whinging; I'm well aware that this happens to most people. The unexpected is continually ambushing us, and contrary to the popular maxim we can never successfully expect it. The great thing is to deal with it once it arrives. Much more easily said than done, but a good start is to accept ones circumstances, and not sit in muddle because "things weren't meant to happen this way". The rest is a bit like a game really, though often a difficult one and for high stakes. They've thrown this at me, so now I'll shift my plan and try that. It's not always fun (in fact, usually it isn't) but it does teach you a lot. Life is a mean pitcher, and the curveballs that come out of that hand can be nasty - so practice on the small stuff.