Even when everything is going as planned, life is hectic. Work, school, kids’ activities, maybe even a social life. There is a lot to coordinate, and especially as we come into the holiday season most of us feel pretty stressed. And then something unexpected happens that makes us realize that everything we were worried about isn’t really that important.

That happened to us this past weekend. After a wonderful Thanksgiving, we took it easy on Friday and worked on decorating the house for Christmas. We got out the tree, hung some lights, and watched our favorite Christmas movies and old TV specials. Abby wasn’t feeling well, so she slept on the couch while we worked around her.

By that night, we realized something wasn’t quite right. She had a fever and was complaining that her stomach hurt. And the next day, we unexpectedly found ourselves in a hospital room with Abby getting prepped for surgery to remove and repair a ruptured appendix. Not the way we pictured the weekend going. Fortunately, Abby is one tough cookie, and while she’s had a few rough days, she is doing her best to follow doctor’s orders so that she can get home and sleep in her own bed. Hopefully that will happen soon. We want her home, too.

And while we navigate our way through this unexpected circumstance, I find myself realizing that a lot of the stress and the things that I had to get done, the things I was worried about, were really just in my mind. They weren’t actually the things that are truly important. Strange isn’t it, that it takes an unexpected situation to show you what things really matter. I’m going to try to remind myself of that more in the future. I know I won’t stop worrying about the little things, but I can try to not let them overwhelm me.

One of the things I’ve been focusing on is our new checkout building. By the time you are reading this, we’ll likely have passed our final building inspection and will be getting ready to open it up. We’re excited to show it to you. And of course, Christmas is in full swing at the nursery with a greenhouse full of poinsettias and the Merry & Bright wall for you to take a family picture. I hope that your holiday season is filled with joy and happiness. And if something unexpected happens, give yourself the grace to realize what’s important and what isn’t. That change in perspective can make all the difference.