…There’s just life. I love that quote from the movie Tombstone. (I happen to be a descendant of Wyatt Earp, just FYI. Well actually of his brother Virgil. Pretty cool, right?) There is no normal life. So true. I think we look for it all the time. I think a lot of times we think that “as soon as this and this happens, things will be on track.” And maybe they will be. But in my experience, we rarely get what we think we want. And even when we do, it’s either not exactly right or not exactly what we thought it would be.

I’ve been facing this challenge in my own life. And having a kid puts everything in a whole new perspective. Going where I want to go and doing what I want to do brings a whole new set of challenges. It’s definitely not what I thought it would be. But that by no means makes it “bad.” If I’ve learned one thing it’s that life is full of surprises. Forrest Gump’s mom was right – life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. (Am I on a movie quoting roll today or what?) And the thing is, it’s not what you face, but how you face it that defines you. No one can completely control their life and circumstances. No one can set a goal and watch it come to fruition exactly as they anticipated. There is always some curve ball, some challenge we didn’t expect. So instead of moping in our misery over failures and disappointments, why don’t we use what we’ve learned as an opportunity to move forward a little wiser? Seems like a good plan to me.

Who’s ready to face a challenge or two head on today? Let’s hear it for the determined!