Dreading the Inevitable or Expecting the Impossible

Today’s guest is Ginger Solomon, a mother of seven who  manages to solomonfind time to write romances, quite a few, in fact.  She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, writes regularly for two blogs, and is president of her local writing group.  Oh, she also likes to do needlework.  Here’s the good and the bad of a recent trip, and at the end, how it relates to her latest book, Second Choice.

Have you ever had to do something, and yet you dreaded it all the way to the moment it happened? Was it as bad as you expected?

What about the opposite? Have you expected a great adventure or event—a vacation, trip to visit family, etc.—and then been disappointed when it didn’t meet your expectations?

Recently my sixteen-year-old daughter and I went on a cruise together. She and I headed to the Caribbean via the Carnival Dream for seven glorious, fun-filled days. Or so I thought.

We’d both been looking forward to the trip for months. I needed the time away from responsibilities around the home, and she wanted to swim with the dolphins like her older sister did on her trip.

Day one (Sunday): Uneventful. We enjoyed walking the ship and checking out where things were. We got lost a few times. Later in the evening, she went to the older-teens meet and greet.

Day two: (A day at sea) She woke up sea-sick. The waves were tossing the boat just a bit. I bought her some pressure-point bracelets. They helped. Thirty minutes after she put them on, she was off to find some other people to hang out with. I read, ate lunch alone, read some more, took a nap, and read some more. Can you see where this is going?

One thing you should know is that I am almost 100% introverted (depending on the quiz I take). My daughter is almost completely opposite. She LOVES hanging with people. I bore her. She wearies me.

Day three: (A day at sea) Repeat day 2, except the sea-sickness.

Day four: Isla de Roatan. Remember that part up there about dreading something? This was the day I dreaded. She wanted to zip-line. You should know I’m not afraid of heights. It’s the fall that bothers me. J But I did it. For her. AND I HAD FUN! Was it scary? Yep. Was it as bad as I thought? Nope.

Day five: Belize. She slept late (1pm). We didn’t go ashore. See day 2.

Day six: Cozumel. Dolphin time. I knew I would like this one, so it was fun. Then we shopped. I got blisters. And forgot to get something a child at home asked for. L

Day seven: (a rocky day at sea) Repeat day 2, except now I’m the one not feeling so well.

Was the trip what I expected? No. Was I disappointed? A little, BUT (and it’s a big but) my daughter HAD A GREAT TIME, and that was good enough.

The trip didn’t meet my expectations, but the dreaded event was better than I expected. I’ve found in my… cough, cough… years that seldom do exciting events live up to our exaggerated expectations just as dreaded events are rarely as bad as we imagine them to be.

Solomon bk coverPrincess Anaya, the heroine in my latest release, Second Choice, dreads a talk she must have with her father, the king, about her upcoming wedding. Her groom disappeared, leaving a cryptic note behind. Three weeks before the wedding. Her anxiety level is high as she approaches her father’s office. When he hears her news, he is at first outraged, but then he takes a moment and considers the situation. In the end, her father shows her a bit of unexpected affection—something she desperately needed. It wasn’t as bad as she anticipated, and it had an unexpected result. She and her father grew closer.

What about you? Have you ever anticipated an event to only be disappointed? Or dreaded an event only to realize your imagination had made it worse than it actually turned out to be?

Her website is at:   www.gingersolomon.com

Find her on FaceBook at:  www.facebook.com/writerGingerSolomon

Her Twitter handle is  @gingerS219

BUY LINK:   http://amzn.to/26xXfYX

JIM:  We’d love for you to leave a comment about any experience you had that just didn’t work out (good or bad) the way you expected.

 

 

 

 

 

6 thoughts on “Dreading the Inevitable or Expecting the Impossible

  1. Dreading the event would be me and the dentist. I shake and sweat and hold my breath till I’m almost blue… but I get through it twice a year… and live to dread it again six months down the road. When does ‘it’s not as bad as expected’ happen? Your description fits most things in life.. just not me and the dentist. Yikes.

    • I dislike the dentist as well. I don’t hold my breath but I do tense my muscles and have to force myself to relax–several times–throughout the cleanings.

  2. Yes, I had jut such an experience yesterday. National Day of Prayer event in our little city, and my husband and I were in charge of getting it together. I spent two frantic weeks of bustling days and sleepless nights. There was so much that could go wrong. Six pastors with speaking assignments, and I know from experience (I’m married to a pastor) that any one of them could get carried away and preach an entire sermon. What if the high school band didn’t arrive in time? What if the sound man didn’t show up with the PA system? What if the keyboard took one of it’s stubborn moods, and wouldn’t work? What if I made a horrible mistake on the keyboard? What if it rained? (We were in an outdoor pavilion) What if . . . what if . . .what if. I had a cloud as big as Texas hanging over my head.

    Well . . . is was a beautiful, sunshiny late afternoon, with birds twittering. The band and the Boy Scouts were there and in great fettle. Everyone was more than considerate with the time allotted. The keyboard and I did fine. In other words, it was a total success. And as a huge bonus, my husband’s sister and her husband surprised us by driving four hours one way to be there and spend a couple of hours with us.

    It’s the next morning, and I’m still smiling.

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