Not-So-Great Expectations

Last weekend I went to visit my practically-family friend Cathy in Redding. Anyone who knows me knows that Redding holds a special place in my heart. Stepping into Cathy’s house is like stepping into a time warp when I was 4 years younger and 1,000 times more naïve about how life was going to turn out by this point. There is a recent episode of How I Met Your Mother about how every 3 years Ted and Marshall watch all the Star Wars trilogy and talk about what life will be like 3 years into the future. Present Ted flashes back to each time he forecasted where his life would be he always “overforecasted” and life was always less than what he thought it would be when the time came to be. This leads present Ted to lose hope and project the least amount of “expectations” for his life 3 years into the future (2015). Of course, the ahhhhh part of the story was the moment he gave up, we see in 3 years, things were better than he ever expected, now watching the Star Wars trilogy with his newborn daughter. Here is a detailed review: http://www.unofficialhimym.com/2012/04/trilogy-time-review_10.html

Before I even watched this episode, I was in Redding, thinking about my past, and clearing out all of my expectations for the future. This has been a culmination of things I have been learning about myself this year. Expectations rob me of joy, and simply coming up with that conclusion is why this particular episode resonated with me so well. I have some decisions to make in the next couple of months: where to live, where to work, and how far do I push my searching radius. I'm leaning on the Lord so much for just next step that it's virtually impossible to plan months or even years down the road. He has made it so the lamp unto my feet only lights the path directly ahead of me. Time to walk by faith.

I think personal expectations caused a lot of feeling of personal failure in my 20’s, which is why visiting Redding is so healing for me. Not only is it a marker where things turned around for me, but I get to be around a godly lady like Cathy who feeds my heart and my body. Her brother and sister-in-law were also in town Friday night and it was good to see them again. They headed off to the movies and I got to catch up with my friend Wendy, whom I worked with while at the college. Her job at Simpson is exactly what I do now at the Junior College level. The next morning, Cathy's company left for home, and all her and I had planned on doing was going to the Zumba class that attended while in Redding. Then it was eating and movie day. I slept up until my alarm—over 10 hours, and got up just in time to eat and head to the class. Cathy was nervous about her first Zumba class in person and I was excited to have her try it.

We arrived at the Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness Club about 10 minutes before the class was going to start. I walked up to the desk “Hi, I want to purchase 2 day passes please.”

“Are either of you members here?”

“Um, no.”

“We’re a closed club and you need a member to vouch for you.” An audience was gathering and I got all hot and bothered. I brought up the Zumba instructor I knew who TOLD me to come via Facebook,  I brought up that I had done this with no problems when I lived here 3 years ago… I even brought up, “But I have money and really want to pay you. Doesn't money mean that it's not closed anymore?" There was no swaying them and we got kicked out this closed club. In REDDING.

There was a very sweet woman who followed us out to the parking lot after overhearing the exchange and offered to sign us up under her name, but I was tearing up from embarrassment (as well as deflated expectations and rejection) and didn't want to go back in. Cathy and I got back in car and decided to go back and get Sophie and take her on a walk down by the river with us. I wiped the wimpy tears and decided that a change in the day was fine, I was just tired of surprises. (The tears at the club were more than just tears for not being able to work out that morning. The day before a group of my friends went on a day trip together and I didn’t know about it until I saw it on facebook, so that really hurt. But... I got over that too.)

Classy.

 

The day by the river was gorgeous. They even had  the gate open to the Botanical Gardens that you usually have to pay to get into, but it was our new "lucky" day. This is the Sounds of Water Fountain that is found very cool. Sophie was thrilled to see one big water dish.

We went home and whipped up leftovers from her week cooking for her family and I ate anything she set before me. After a movie (and subsequent nap time—that chair is the most comfortable one I’ve even been in), then Cathy suggested that we go to her old gym, which has a machine that will pop her spine into place and save her from a chiropractor visit, and had free weights for me. We called and got their day rates and headed over. When we pulled in the parking lot, there was a sign “Ask about our Buddy Rates.” She said to me, “Don’t go in and ask to buy a pass—let me see if I can get us in. I have an idea.”

Every time we left, this is where we would find Sophie watching for the car to return.

She went in an inquired about the Buddy Pass, said she had been a member before, then asked if we could check out the gym. I was sure that since she had been there before that they would make us pay, but the girl at the front desk looked around and said “As you can see there is no one here. Perfect timing to try it out.” I beamed at Cathy. Not more than 30 minutes later we were leaving, more sore and sweaty than we arrived but it was just the thing we needed. Cathy said her back popped right into place the moment she jumped on the arm “fly” machine. For dinner that night we made homemade pizza in an deep dish pan and watched Season 2 of Downton Abbey. Sunday was church and Thai food with Marty and Abbey and then it was already time to pack and head home. Sophie and I hated to leave so soon, but we don’t think we could take any more calories! :) It’s those mini-vacations that make the regular diet and workout plan worth it.

Even with set backs, I think I am learning to recover faster, which I think is the whole point. "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken."