When We Make Plans

October is a big month for me.  It marks an anniversary that sometimes I want to forget altogether...But other times, I remember as being a huge life changing event that sent me on a path I wouldn't have picked.  And it's better than the one I did.
In October of 2011, I was preparing to leave for Marine Corps Boot Camp.  I was so ready.  I was going to make it.  I wasn't scared.  I knew I was doing the right thing for me.  Unfortunately, I made the decision to go for a little bike ride.  That little bike ride down a mountainside completely changed my fate for the rest of my life.  At that point in time, my plan was as follows:   Marine-->Wife-->War-->Mommy etc.  
Well, it has been three years now and I'm none of those things and I don't think I could be any happier that my plans didn't quite work out.  Sure, sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be an active duty Marine, but I found something else.  I created a new career for myself.  One that I'm almost definitely better off in.  Not only that, I was inspired to go to college after my little break from life.  Part of the reason I chose to join the military was that I wasn't ready to go to college.  Breaking my arm gave me some time to grow up and get ready for it. 
I didn't end up marrying that boy and living with him happily ever after.  Again, sometimes I wonder what it would have been like...but where I sit right now, I'm happy that we didn't stay together.  We probably would have had a few months of wedded bliss before the realization that a mistake had been made... Right now, my injury is a faint scar and a distant memory.  Sometimes my fingers go numb or my arm tingles...but I don't really notice any limitations. My plans that didn't work out are lessons that I've learned.  Life is amazing for me.  I don't think I have ever been so happy.  If I could go back, the only thing I would do is hit myself on the head.  The bike ride was a pretty stupid idea.  But hey...shit happens.  I suppose this is where I say that I'll chalk it up to better luck. 
I suppose the only thing that's left to do...is ride a bike.  I haven't in three years.  If I ever do that again, I'll let you know how it goes. 

A Gypsy-Cowboy-Truck Driving-Teacher

Today, Jill from Do Try This at Home will be taking over my blog and contributing to the "Chalk it Up" series!  She is one of those awesome new additions to my blog-reading list that I've been talking about.  
Jill is a mother, a teacher, and an all around good read. It has been so fun to follow along with her life and share all her posts. Having her as a sponsor has been great. I hope you enjoy her post today!  I really enjoyed reading her story and I'm sure that you will too. Be sure to follow along on Facebook and Twitter.  
Happy Thursday!
Hi there I'm Jill from Do Try This at Home 

When Katie so graciously invited me to guest post on Chalk it Up, she mentioned that a good place to start would be “a time when you had an experience that maybe didn't go quite as you planned…”

And I was all, “OH! That would be, like, the ENTIRE DECADE of my twenties!!!!” 

And most of my thirties too, truth be told.  So, I’m feeling kind’a well qualified here.

My life goals as a child were a little on the “diverse” side.  I wanted to grow up to be a teacher.  But I also wanted to grow up to be a cowboy.  And a truck driver.  And a beach bum.  Most of all, I wanted to grow up to be a gypsy, because I wanted to live in one of these:

I mean, who doesn’t?!?!?

I entered my teen years and proceeded to quit college three times before finally ending up with my degree.  It would be years before I actually stepped into the classroom to teach. 

Unfortunately or fortunately, I was the one learning so many of the lessons.  During my two years in public school I had heartbreak after heartbreak, “teaching” kids who had been previously kidnapped, who had seen family members murdered, who were being raised by siblings because they had parents who were deceased and/or unfit, who had relatives in jail, who claimed they were the devil, who threatened suicide. 

And I was teaching six year olds!

I stayed in teaching because it was my life goal and because I wanted to help children.  And because becoming a truck driver seemed less and less likely the more of my own children I produced.

But Katie’s blog is about making the best of it and moving on, which I did.  I had to, for my own mental health.  One can only persevere for so long before falling head first into the abyss.  I now teach in a school that does not ask me to break laws with a nudge and a wink, that does not write me up if I am ten minutes behind schedule, and that, most importantly, respects me as a professional teacher.

However, I have earned that respect with eleven years of teaching now under my belt.  What I lacked when I started was my own voice.  I lacked the “my way or the highway” attitude that is so important in managing a classroom of children, no matter the age. 

Fair yet firm is how I try and work with kids these days, in so far as I am able.  And the little girl who told me she was Satan?  These days I would have no trouble telling her that it was all well and good that she was the devil, but that she needed to sit at her desk and do her class work anyway.

So I “Chalk it up to Better Luck”, but also to knowing when to move on and when to make a change!

Thank you to Katie for the guest post opportunity!  And thank you to morguefile.com for the truck picture anddollarphotoclub.com for the picture of my would be abode!

You Just Do

As you may or may not know, my blog's name comes from my not so fortunate history of things just...not going quite as I planned.  As a testament to this fact, I've created the "Chalk It Up" Series. This series is open for anyone to post. If you would like to write about a time when things didn't go as you had hoped, but you were able to shake it off and live your life afterwards please contact me! 

You can read the past "Chalk It Up" Posts here & here

Today's post was inspired by a call I received from a young man at work.  The company I work for is a jewelry financing company. We often deal with people purchasing engagements rings and wedding rings for their significant other's.  Well, yesterday, I was speaking with this guy who had recently broken up with his girlfriend and he was saddled with the burden of paying for the ring anyway as the store wouldn't take the return.  

At the end of the call, I told the guy "You know, I'm really sorry this happened. I know how that can be. I've totally been there." 

He asked me "How do you get over a thing like this?!" 

I said to him "Sir...You just do." 

Once upon a time, I was engaged to a lovely young man who was far too handsome for me.  I thought he was way out of my league and I felt...blessed to have in my life. We had this whirlwind of a romance where we fell in love so quickly. We were just...intoxicated by each other. 

That's us. For give me, this is before I knew about tweezers.

But then one day, it all fell apart. To this day, I really can't tell you what happened.  All I know is that I was devastated. My life was over.  I spent months crying myself to sleep just hoping and praying for things to change.  It was just so hard. I was 19 years old, working a dead end job.  I had just joined the Army Reserve because I wanted life to be easy for us. I wanted to be able to be with him, so I chose not to go active. It was kinda huge.  The entire course of my life had to change. 

Then all of a sudden, I started to just...feel better. It was like I had just realized that he didn't make me who I was.  That I would be okay and that life really does go on.  I started going to school.  I lived on my own for a while. I became a Soldier...I saw that there was far more to life than a boy.  To be honest, I don't think I really got over it until we reconciled and became friends.  Sometimes, I'll still feel a little sad about it, but I know that I'm a better person for the experiences that I've had.  Yeah, it sucked, but now I can look back on it and just remember the good parts.  Now we can talk and laugh and be friends and it really is...okay.  

Being able to take this HUGE thing in stride (okay, so at the time, I didn't take it in stride, but it has taught me to take other things in stride) has really helped me deal with other colossal changes in my life.  Now, I really can just...chalk it up to better luck.

Rearranging The Pieces

With this new series, I almost forgot that I should be sharing one of my own stories too!  Seems how all of these little incidents that I've had make up the name of this blog, I should probably tell you about how I've "Chalked it up to better luck".

Well, as you may or may not know...I'm a member of the United States armed forces

Da Army to be exact.

I'm a Soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve. While being in the Army isn't exactly what I had planned for myself, it ended up working out quite well. I really enjoy being a Soldier. Originally, I wanted to be a Marine, but I got into a little bike accident that brought the dream to sudden stop.  I broke my arm and I broke my dreams...

Instead of letting it hurt me though, I picked up the pieces and I rearranged them. When I was finished, the picture looked a lot different than when I started. I changed my perspective, I changed my goals and before I knew it, I was shipping out to Basic Training for the Army. Something I thought would never be possible.

Now, I encourage everyone who isn't exactly sure what to do with their lives to consider the military. While it isn't for everyone, it is for a lot of people, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.  For me, it's exactly where I fit best. I am glad that instead of allowing my broken arm to bring my dreams to a complete halt that I worked towards something new. You know what they say, when one door closes, another door opens. I suppose you just have to keep an open mind and hope for the best.  ***** If you would like share a time when things didn't go exactly as you planned, but it all ended up fine in the the end, please contact me at katherine.c.nay@gmail.com to be a part of the "Chalk it up" series. 

When it Rains it Pours

Well, I promised you all a series, so today, I have my sidebar featured sponsor Ashely  from American Honey to kick it off!  This series was created to share exactly what this blog is all about. It's about making the best of bad situations. It's about learning to move on from the things that don't go exactly as we plan.  I hope you enjoy the first instalment of

To share you story and be a part of this series, please email me at katherine.c.nay@gmail.com

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Blog

Have y’all every heard the saying “when it rains, it pours”?! Well, fellow friends of Chalk It Up to Better Luck, I’m Ashley from over at American Honey and I have a quite literal and somewhat funny (after the fact) raining and pouring story that I now chalk up to better luck and laugh about.

As some of y’all may know, I was a tour guide at my college. I loved getting to meet all of the prospective students looking to attend my wonderful school. Every semester I had to give a certain number of tours and sign ups would be at our bi-weekly meetings. I signed up to give a tour on Veteran’s Day. I was very happy about this tour until I found out that it was supposed to rain the whole week.

As the time for my tour came around, I was not excited to give about it anymore. Before I even started the tour my Sperry’s were soaked. I tried to make the best of this rainy day by being a very cheerful tour guide and telling lots of jokes because I wasn't the only one having to tough it out in that wet miserable weather.

About half-way through the tour, somebody asked me a question. I didn't want to stop and answer it because that would only mean being out in the rain even longer. I turned around and started walking backwards down the sidewalk while answering the question.

Little did I know that I was walking down a sidewalk where a knee-high decorative brick wall jutted out into the middle of the walkway. I kept walking backwards and walked right into it and ended up sitting down on it. Normally everything would have been fine. I probably would have laughed and gotten up and made some kind of joke about it. But on this particular day, it wasn't quite as funny. When I got up from my unintentional sit on the brick wall, the back of my pants were soaked. I was mortified!

I tried to laugh but I just couldn't manage it. Everybody in the group asked if I was alright which only made me feel worse. The front of my pants were soaked from just walking in the sideways rain and then the second half of the tour I had completely wet pants, front and back. When we finally got to the end of the tour, I apologized for giving such an awful tour on the yucky rainy day. To my surprise I was met with big smiles and laughter as my group told me that I had given one of the best school tours they had been on.

Ever since then I try to remember that just because you’re having one of those “when it rains, it pours” kind of day doesn't mean that you can’t have a positive effect on other people’s day. Heck, you may even get a good story out of it like I did.

I also wanted to thank Katie for hosting the Chalk It Up series and wish her the best of luck!