Last weekend I had an unexpected adventure. I don’t usually have unexpected adventures. Everything is usually pretty well planned, with at least 48 hours notice. It’s organized and structured. If it’s an impulsive decision, it’s always got to be in my control. Yes, maybe I will (hypothetically) make a decision that I am going to Greece in three days time (I haven’t today, but I have done similar things in the past, and it’s still early). However, if a decision is made to spontaneously travel or do anything, it’s made by me. So it’s not really unexpected. It’s still controlled, organized and structured.

I’ve ruined more plans made by others than I can even count. Dinner reservation that, by the time dinner is finished, will be the *perfect* location to watch a parade? I’ll try to rush so that we don’t have to be caught on one side of the parade. Impromptu trip to the mountains? I’ll have a seizure while trying to pack.

Why don’t I like surprises? What is it about uncontrolled circumstances that make me crazy? Why does the idea of having a surprise get away or fancy dinner make me panicy?

It starts with my medication. If I am going to travel, even for a weekend, I wouldn’t trust anyone to be able to correctly organize my medications so that I have the proper doses. If I don’t ­know that I have my medication, plans are out. I carry three days’ worth of medication with me all times, but that still doesn’t mean that I don’t get panicky at the idea of going out of town.

What else? I coordinate my days to how I am feeling. Some days I can run a marathon and then still manage to slide into stilettos and go out after. Some days walking to the kitchen to make coffee is almost more than I can manage (almost). Sometimes those are the same days and I can push through. I am the one who knows how I’m feeling.

Third thing: I don’t like not knowing what to wear. It sounds dumb, but I really enjoy planning what I am going to wear, from the clothing to the shoes to the accessories. I might not have 100% control of my body 100% of the time, but I do have that for how I present myself to the world. This includes sweatpants. If you ever see me out in public (not running) with no makeup and wearing something I slept in, it was totally intentional. 100% planned.

The unexpected adventure of last weekend: It was less of a controlled trip and more like multiple pieces falling into place to make it an absolutely amazing experience. I have to say, I loved that it was all last-minute plans and super random combinations of things happening.

So unexpectedly, plans were put into motion to go to Washington for a few hours. This goes against my very nature of needing the excessive planning, but the ferry was shutting down on the Monday for a month for maintenance. So it had to be Sunday. New friends (from New Year’s Eve) who live in Washington drove to the port town to meet for lunch. As it turned out, that was a 2.5 hour drive, so super amazing that they did that, just for lunch. Thank you very much to them for coming out!

On the ferry back, my friend ended up with very terrible Mal de Mer. Sea sickness. In all honesty, I have never had to take care of someone with sea sickness before, so it was a learning experience for me too. Apparently plain fried rice is easy on someone’s stomach and sleep helps with everything.

So really. I had medication (because I always do). I wasn’t exhausted (it was a weekend). I had my clothes (you know, because I was wearing them). Sea sickness isn’t the end of the world.

What was amazing was the adventure. It was a fantastic amount of fun (minus mal de mer). It was a short period of time, it was impromptu, it was a lunch and great conversation. I look forward to the next time and I hope that it can be longer than just a few hours. Whether it’s totally pre-planned, or put together within limited hours, I look forward to it. It pushed an edge I didn’t know I had. Unexpected adventures are not something I ever thought I would experience and now that I have, I cannot wait for the next one. Whenever that may be.