The Best-Laid Plans...

Often go awry. And I'm trying to learn that's okay. 
It's very rare that I feel the need to post something, but this post has been on my mind all week. In fact, I think it's been on my heart. 
Those of you who know "real life" Chelsea know I'm a planner. Those of you in the blogging world may find that hard to believe, since I go through spurts of MIA-ness here on the blog, but it's true. In fact, on the phone this morning, I had a calligrapher exclaim, "Well, you're quite the planner, aren't you?!" when she learned our wedding wasn't until next June.   I like to stay on top of things, because if I let due dates sneak up on me, I panic, and it's ugly. One thing I wasn't going to let sneak up on me? My first day of practicum in the classroom this semester. 
I'm a senior early-childhood-education major, which means half of my time this semester is spent in an elementary school classroom and the other half in classes at Clemson. At the beginning of the month, my classmates and I were given our field placements. I was assigned a first grade teacher at a school in Greenville, about 40 minutes away. Being the planner I am, I immediately emailed her, introducing myself and explaining how excited I was to work with her (while avoiding using too many exclamation marks!). I went to Meet the Teacher, and set four alarms for the First Day of School- three "wake up" alarms, and one "leave the house to pick up friends" alarm. I triple-checked these alarms before going to sleep.
Somehow, my phone managed to burrow itself under pillows, and I didn't wake up until my 6:20 alarm... Which would have been fine, if that wasn't the final alarm.
Chelsea-the Planner-VerHage woke up as her alarm reminded her it was time to leave the house. On her first day of school. 
I promise y'all, I do not even vaguely, fuzzily remember hitting "Snooze" or hearing those first three alarms at all. I bolted out of bed, turned on my straightener to give it time to warm up (I knew I wouldn't have time to do all of my hair, but I could at least primp my bangs!), and texted the girls I was carpooling with. (They got a good laugh out of the "JUST WOKE UP GO AHEAD AND LEAVE I AM SO SORRY I HATE MYSELF" message...) 
I quickly changed, threw on minimal makeup, and reached for my trusty straightening iron.... And it did nothing. Yes, folks, that's right. My straightening iron, which was working perfectly the night before (not to mention the last several years), straight-up died on me in a time of desperate need. I tried to stay calm as I dashed out the door and to my car, but it was difficult.
Thankfully, I arrived at 7:15- school doesn't start until 7:45. 
I know, I know... Some of you may have the same reaction as John, which was, "What?! You act like you were so late when really you were ridiculously early!"
Now, that's early on a normal day, but I had these great plans to be there early-early, arriving with my friends (hair perfectly styled to boot!), and I ruined those plans. As soon as I woke up and realized my mistake, I was embarrassed and mad at myself. 
However, those weren't the only things I felt. I also felt humbled. I starting praying the moment I woke up, and I wasn't asking God to get me to school on time! I was just talking, because it was the only thing that could possibly calm me down. It was so comforting to know He was with me even when my plans weren't working out. I prayed that I would still be able to be the best I could for the kids in my class on their first day of school. 
For the record, it was a great first day. Actually, despite the fact I felt like a hobo, several of the sweet boys and girls told me how beautiful I was throughout the day. Ha! 
My second day went a lot smoother, but I'm actually thankful I had that mishap the first day. I realized it will be okay even if things don't work out according to my plans. Especially if I just pray....
And listen to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."  Because that song is just making me happy this week.