Leave Room for the Unexpected

What do family vacations and lemons have in common?

I like to squeeze every last drop out of both.

I'm not sure who has it worse - the lemons or my poor family.

I'm kidding. We always have a wonderful time together, and we usually come home tired but fulfilled.

Several years ago, though, one vacation changed the way I think about time.

Everyone wanted something different from the trip, and planning it felt like solving a giant puzzle. Determined that everyone would get exactly what they wanted, I somehow managed to fit ten days' worth of activities into just five.

Every hour had a purpose.

Every day had a plan.

And I was pretty proud of it.

Three days into our trip, we discovered that one of our favorite musicians—the kind you've always meant to see but somehow never have—was performing nearby that very evening.

The concert was only two hours long, but our schedule had no room for two extra hours.

So, we passed, telling ourselves we'd catch him next time.

Only there wasn't a next time.

He passed away just a few months later.

I've replayed that decision more times than I can count.

Not because our vacation wasn't wonderful.

It was.

But because it taught me something I'll never forget.

We had planned every minute and left no room for the unexpected.

Since then, I've realized how easy it is to live that way—not just on vacation, but in business too.

We fill every hour.

Commit every dollar.

Say yes to every opportunity.

We confuse being full with being fulfilled.

But sometimes the opposite is true.

Sometimes the most meaningful moments are the ones we never saw coming.

A conversation.

A phone call.

A new idea.

A chance to spend time with someone we love.

None of those fit neatly into a schedule packed from morning until night.

These days, our family vacations still have plans.

Just not for every minute.

We've learned to leave room for detours, unexpected discoveries, and moments we couldn't have planned if we'd tried.

Funny enough, those often become the moments we remember most.

As for the lemons...

I'm happy to report they're still living on the edge.