We Make Plans. The Universe Laughs.

Cancelled. My husband was waiting for the race to begin, the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, launching from Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Maryland. Conditions looked highly favorable for the 4.4 mile swim. He had his wetsuit, his Gatorade, bananas, and goop. His face coated with sunblock, this year he’d purchased new polarized goggles. But 15 minutes before participants were to dive into the water, the race was called off.

The reason given by the race officials was, “Too choppy for kayakers to monitor the safety of swimmers.” On the other shore waves were choppy, a buoy dislodged, and the one-mile swim cancelled.

Forty minutes before I was planning to start my drive to the finish line point, my phone rang and delivered the news.

On this same weekend my husband’s nephew was getting married and a 100 thbirthday celebration for his aunt was planned. We begged off the two other events because he’d been training all year for the swim and it’s a yearly tradition.

This year, He’ll be skipping the Bay Swim and I am reminded to take nothing for granted. I can plan, be ready and prepared, but that’s all I can do.

I look back on the year and I’m seeing a pattern. Meetings cancelled. Out-of-town guests cancelled. Social events cancelled. A storm. An illness. A work deadline. All kinds of things can happen. We improvise. Seize the moment and do our best.

And that’s all we can do.

In the writing world, here is a link to a piece of flash fiction, titled “Three Secrets” that was momentarily “cancelled” because the magazine that accepted it has no funds to print but not willing to give up on it, I sent it out again and it was accepted and published this week by Bright Flash Literary Review.

One possibility closes and another opens. When things fall apart, begin again. Eventually you’ll get there.

Writing Prompt:

Dealing with Disappointment.

An important event your character ( or you) has been looking forward to for months is suddenly cancelled. What do they do? Have fun thinking of alternative scenarios. Use all five senses to tap into the character’s state of mind. Write for 20 minutes. Re-read what you’ve written and select a favorite sentence or two and start again. Try different variations. You might get an idea for a story or essay or maybe learn something about yourself.

Thank you for reading. If you haven’t already done so, you can follow me for FREE and get an email every time I publish. Postings are available on wordpress, medium and substack. Read more of my work at Nadjamaril.com.

Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on June 9, 2024.