Enlightening

The girls from work and I had lunch together last week. It's always an entertaining time but today was more than that. It was enlightening.

The subject came up on dates and planning. Something that surprised us all? We all seem to like to know the plan, know it early enough (say... 24 hours) and stick to it. Are all women like that? Dare I say... inflexible?

I like to have a plan and when the plan falls apart or is altered I tend to do the same. I think I've been getting better at going with the flow (although some may disagree) but it's still such an adjustment in my head.  We agreed that it's more of a mental thing than anything else.  Women, it seems, mentally prepare themselves for just about everything. Haircuts; we have to mentally prepare for the cut and the (probable) disappointment. Birth; that's why we have so many classes to take... we need to prepare for the before, the during, the after and then the after-after. Evening plans; whether we have to go to the gym or we're going to a movie - two very different evenings that require different sorts of mental preparations. We tend to read more self help books than men because we want to know what is going on around us and how to mentally prepare or live through it. Life is tough and by golly, we need our minds to be ready for it!

Maybe we over complicate our lives by trying to stick to such stringent schedules/plans, but it seems to keep us feeling safe and the world, more predictable. Knowing what to expect in the next few hours, being mentally prepared for us, gives us some sort of peace. Peace, knowledge, an inflexible schedule... is that too much to ask?!