04/24/2026
The Day Everything Went Wrong… and Still Went Right
Today was supposed to be the day.
The plan was simple: be on the road to Cocoa Beach by noon. A fresh start. A new chapter. Forward motion after everything it took to get here.
It’s now 10 PM—and I’m still in Richmond.
And if I’m honest, today tested me in ways I didn’t see coming.
The mover I hired showed up with a 15-foot truck. The moment I saw it, I knew. There was no way my home—furniture, boxes, everything I had built over the last two and a half years—was fitting into that truck.
I said something immediately.
He reassured me.
He told me it would work.
So I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Hours passed.
Three hours turned into eleven.
What should have been a smooth, professional process turned into confusion, frustration, and a growing realization that I was right from the beginning—this was never going to work.
We tried to problem-solve. Calm conversations turned into difficult ones. Every attempt to find a solution seemed to circle back to blame. I was told there was “more stuff than expected.” That I wasn’t being patient. That the problem somehow belonged to me.
But I knew the truth.
And that’s where today gave me one of its biggest lessons:
Standing in your truth—even when someone else refuses to meet you there.
Eventually, we had to pivot.
We went to U-Haul and found a trailer. I paid for it myself because the person I trusted to handle this didn’t even have the resources to fix the mistake. Even then, everything still didn’t fit. My life—my belongings—ended up scattered across five different vehicles. Mine. My sister Janet’s. My son and his wife’s. My daughter-in-law’s sister’s. Even the mover’s girlfriend’s car.
Not exactly the vision I had for this transition.
By the end of the day, we were exhausted. Physically. Emotionally. Mentally.
There was nothing left to give.
So instead of getting on the road, we came to Julie’s house to rest.
And that’s when something shifted.
Because in the middle of everything that went wrong, I started to see everything that went right.
I saw my son step up for me in a way that filled my heart.
I watched Julie stay calm, steady, and solution-focused when things felt chaotic.
I had my sister Janet there beside me, navigating it all together.
And unexpectedly, I got to see my fifth-grade teacher—Julie’s mother—something I never would have planned, but somehow needed.
Then I walked into the bathroom.
And there it was.
A simple beach-themed space. A picture on the wall that read: “Life is better at the beach.”
I smiled.
Because even though today didn’t go according to plan… I’m still getting there.
And maybe that’s the lesson.
Life isn’t always going to cooperate with your timeline. People won’t always show up the way they said they would. Plans will fall apart. Emotions will rise. You’ll get tired. You might even lose your temper for a moment.
But in the middle of all of that—there is still support.
There is still love.
There are still moments that remind you why you’re doing this in the first place.
Today taught me patience.
It stretched my ability to communicate directly.
It showed me where I still get triggered—and where I’m growing.
And most importantly, it reminded me that even when the path looks messy…
I am still moving forward.
Tomorrow, we get back on the road.
And I’ll carry this with me:
Things can go completely off track… and still lead you exactly where you’re meant to be.
