Boy, I’d love to be fishing right now… especially if it were, say, 70+ degrees.
Thanksgiving made this topic super current to me and perhaps it may help you too as we go into the holiday “season.” Here’s what I know: everyone has a different expectation of what life should look like and this is heightened during the holidays.
Some people hope to have the family in the kitchen with old and young kids alike, baking cookies and creating culinary creations that provide comfort and holiday spirit to the house. Some perhaps want “life as usual,” without a lot of fanfare. Some want the family to play games, or to load up in the family caravan in search of the greatest light displays. Some want to hide by the fire and watch Netflix or the football.
What I know to be true is that we all come in to our days with what is going on in our current lives and our own opinion of what would be the perfect experience.
There are three key points that I feel are obvious (but we can all use a reminder… especially me!):
- Expectations are good because we all need to have dreams and know what would create happiness and joy for ourselves.
- Expectations are not good if they are not shared with those that may play a starring role in what you are hoping for.
- Expectations are best achieved when we are open and honest with one another and are also open to modify ours to meet the needs of everyone involved.
Sounds simple, right?
On vacations, we often have everyone go around and ask everyone what is one thing they really hope to do. I have never really thought about doing it on other occasions or maybe even a weekly basis but it’s something to consider for sure. We can certainly all elevate our lives by having healthy expectations and conversations around those! Food for thought today…
I Wish I had done this before our recent holiday vacation. Original plans changed into Plan B and then Plan C when things didn’t work out for everybody.
In the end it wasn’t as good of an experience as it could have been.
Isn’t that the truth- I need this reminder every single time. 🙂
I want to do ALL of your suggested expectations….except the “life as usual” one!!! I love the adventure of holidays…..sitting around your table laughing and relating our past escapades was a lot of fun! Also, the question cards were really fun and revealed a part of each of us that was not known before….brought everyone together.
Thanks for this 2nd Thanksgiving in your new home. God brought us all in communion with the beautiful view of nature.
You are family and we love you!
Great reminder about communicating our expectations and making sure that we also listen to the expectations of others. Sometimes compromise, a meeting in the middle can make all the difference.