I Took a Wrong Turn and Ended up in Philadelphia

Well here I am in Washington DC. I’ve got a few shows to play and long-distance boy to stay with for a few weeks. I was looking forward to my cozy weekend here in the capitol, seeing the guy I never get to see, walking through the Smithsonian Zoo Lights, enjoying hot coffee and sightseeing on a cold day.
....But my plans got cancelled.

Muffin had to stay at work for 12 hour days (14 with travel) all week. He was busy as hell and exhausted every day coming home. So I hardly got to see him all week. I kept my head up for the weekend though.

Until he got told that he had to work the Army-Navy game. He had to leave midday Friday and wouldn’t be back until late Saturday night. Did I mention he was scheduled to go in at 9pm on Sunday for a 12 hour night shift?
Gooooodbyeeeee weekend or any time with Brandon...
 
I was quite sad. Mainly because I had waited forever to see him again. Rearranged my schedule. Gave up my time home. All to be here. Only for him to not be.
Well….this is unfortunate.

My first thoughts were “WHY?!” and “NO” and “THIS ISN’T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!”

The next day I told my mom about how crappy the situation was. I told her how it was unfair. How this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.
She said “Well. This is how it is. What are you going to do now?”
 
That really spoke to me. Who cares what’s “supposed to be.” There’s really no such thing as “supposed to be.” There’s only what is. There’s only now. We can plan and plan, but the truth is, you never know how it’s going to be until it is.

There’s an old joke that I really needed to hear: If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

Your plans don’t always happen the way they were “supposed to.”
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When it comes down to it, there’s only what is. Prep and plan for what you can, but stay flexible and ready to shift as needed. It’s ok to plan your life out, but do it in pencil. Don’t think about the future, the past, or what’s “supposed to be”

Just do what you can with now.

And so….
I quit thinking about what my weekend was “supposed to be” and took a look at what it was now. I got online and bought myself a bus ticket to Philadelphia and back. I left on Friday, visited an old friend I was dying to see anyway, got a fancy froo-froo happy hour drink, ate an awesome meal with old and new friends, went to a super fun Hannukkah party, saw Bran for some of the night, and got brunch the next day all before my bus ride back to DC.
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I navigated the city with success (more or less) and arrived at my show to play two awesome sets and make some more new friends.

Don’t be afraid to adjust your course. Never dwell on how things were “supposed to be.” All we’ve got is right now, so you best wake up and do the best you can with it.
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When your castle crumbles, build a new one. If you spend your time being sad about how it was never supposed to crumble, you’ll never get anywhere. Try something different. Adjust your material. Change your strategy. Maybe decide to build something else. Change your location. Adjust your mindset.

Eventually you’re going to create something amazing.

Never be afraid to change directions. And that’s how I found myself in Philly.
 
       -BL

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