Happy Thursday! My head feels as big as the room but I am up, moving, and unstoppable:) Ok, so perhaps coffee is helping me move, but nevertheless, I am moving.
So....does pregnancy cause placenta brain and make you forget everything? My memory is as good as an elephants, so I am not the one losing brain cells. Gosh, if I were pregnant I would have to change the theme of the blog...again. Oh wait, I haven't done it to begin with. Disregard:)
It's story time! Names have been changed to protect the identity of my loved ones:)
I tend to do random acts of kindness to make peoples days/lives a little better. My latest kick is buying groceries for the 2 people behind me every time I go to the grocery store on the base. It doesn't matter how many items they have or if they appear to have a need or not. If you're the two people that pop up behind me, I got your stuff. My vision is that this person may have a true need, one I do not now about, one that isn't my concern. Or if this individual doesn't have a need, he or she will may remember what I did and will turn around one day and help someone who has a true need. I realized my kindness doesn't necessarily have to extend towards strangers. I can help people close to me that do have a need. My acts of kindness varies towards the individual and what might make their life a little better.
I reached out to someone close to me, whom I trust. She just so happens to be preggo. I had a few small tasks that she would get compensated for such as sending out a few emails, going online to pay a few of my bills (just clicking the pay now button, not actually paying for my bills), and ordering a few things for me online. Nothing too complicated. I didn't have the time and I know she could use the extra funds. Win-Win for everyone right?
Fast forward to this morning. I was talking to someone when I realized I haven't heard from someone Miss P(reggo) was supposed to contact. This was a time sensitive issue sent to a very punctual person so I was perplexed that my friend hadn't replied. I texted Mrs. P to confirm she sent the email, she confirmed, so I texted my friend to ask if she was going to accept or decline the invite. My friend had no idea what I was talking about because she didn't get an email from me. So I pull up my email, check my sent items, then almost choke on my coffee. What did Ms. P do?!?!?!?!?!?!
Ms. P knew of a former situation and clearly didn't listen to all of what I was saying when I called to discuss the email. When she sent the email later, she had confused two people with similar names, confused the two completely different stories (one which hasn't been discussed for months, the other that was discussed that day), then complied her own version:) Oh geeze.
Rewind! A close friend was medically retired from the military a few months ago and has been having a hard adjusting to civilian life. He was a former firefighter so not only did he miss the military life, he missed the life of a firefighter. Someone else dear to me had a perfect opportunity for our mutual friend!!!! A plane is flying in at a base next week; this plane isn't necessarily "special", but it's not a plane that's at this base, so it's a big deal. While the plane is there, it's running the whole time, so it's constantly being refueled. The fire department has to sit there until the plane departs in case of a fuel spill, or a fire caused by the refuel, etc. When these planes come into town, the fire department kind of gets special treatment since they're official babysitters, so their families (or friends that can access the base) can have a quick peek at the plane. Near and Dear worked out a deal where Mr. Medically Retired could serve as an honorary firefighter for the shift, and could be out there with the guys/gals, living the old military/fire fighter life, and could see the plane:) This was not a simple task by any means. My job? I was going to cover the cost of the plane tickets for our friend and his wife; I had a set budget so I could also cover a room on the base for them and probably a rental car if they didn't want to hang out with Near and Dear, if the tickets were purchased when they were still inexpensive. It's cheaper to fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, so it would be a fast trip for them, plus Mrs. Medically Retired has to work and Mr. Medically Retired has doctor appointments on his schedule, so I knew they couldn't be out too long. I wasn't going to be there for this so unfortunately I was going to miss the opportunity to hang out with my good friends:(
Fast forward: Yeah, Ms. P didn't send that email. She sent an email, to someone with a VERY similar name first who has a male in her life with the same name as Mr. Medically Retired. However, Ms. P had confused stories and sent a brief email to Similar Name, not explaining the honorary fire fighter, how we thought it might be good for Mr. Medically Retired to live the life again, and how Near and Dear would love to see them. She just sent a short and sweet email to the WRONG person offering to fly them up for an event. This email was so brief Similar Name wouldn't have realized it went to the wrong person. Sigh. PLACENTA BRAIN. I called Ms. P to asked what in the world she was thinking and she thought I wanted the email sent to the other person. She was halfway listening to what I said and although when she was typing she was wondering why she was sending it because she heard me say Mr. Medically Retired MISSED FIREFIGHTING and wondered why this would be applicable to Similar Name, she sent it anyway! OMG Ms. P can you not call me back to seek clarification?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
This is bad for many many reasons because A--I do not wish to communicate with the recipient of the email, and I am sure the feelings are mutual. I am glad this person did not accept or decline the offer because I would've had to reply explaining the mistake--if I don't wish to communicate with Similar Name, this kind of ruins that huh? Finding out it went to the WRONG person due to a reply from this individual would've been a bad, bad thing. It's a freak out moment when the light bulb comes on and you realize a mistake was made. But to find out via a replied email is bad ju-ju:) B--It was time sensitive due to airline tickets sky rocketing closer to departure date. GREAT!! I had told Mrs. Medically Retired of my plans so I couldn't back out of the offer.
So how did this end?
Placenta brain worked out really, really well actually. Blessing in disguise? As it turns out, if Mr. and Mrs. Medically Retired received the email as intended, they would be at home right now. Airline tickets a month ago out of home airport was XX price. As it turns out, she spontaneously took 2 weeks vacation from work so they took a short road trip to visit family. I kayaked airline tickets to discover tickets 6 days out from vacation airport are CHEAPER than home airport was a month+ ago!! Also, Mrs. Medically Retired was so touched by the offer and LOVED the idea, she's 100% on board AND insisted to pay for half the ticket price plus the room. Their trip will be a day shorter than we hoped but oddly it all fell into place. Everything happens for a reason right?
What could've been a moment of panic resulting in stressful day/week has turned into a calm event. I didn't let it get to me. I had a choice: freak out or remain collected. I chose to define it, not let panic define ME. I also learned not to let pregnant women send emails on your behalf:) I love you Ms. P and you know this! I will just be happy when your baby pops out so your brain is normal, not a placenta brain;-) I should've known things were headed south when my cupcake liners were the size of a quarter, instead of regular size. Lesson 2--Don't let a pregnant woman shop for you!
So what is my point?!?!?!?!?!?!?! See paragraph above. Life is too short to stress over things beyond your control. Embrace it and do what you can with it. It worked to my advantage today. We are all faced with stress. We can let it get to us or we can channel it in other directions. Get a stress ball, do some yoga, go for a run. Just don't sweat the small stuff. Have a great Thursday!
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