CHERI,

I don’t know about you, but I’m the sort of person who’s big on the plan. Maybe it’s the journalist I was trained up to be, always asking who, what, when, where & how, or maybe I’m just a tad bit type A. But whatever it is, when the plan goes awry, it can be a tough thing to grasp.

But here’s the deal. Every time my oh-so-perfect plans have fallen through my fingers, I find my hands are open to receive a day, a moment, a lifetime of something so much better. Case in point? Nashville Day 2: The Birthday Gift.

Once upon a time, I planned out an entire day of fun & festivities in celebration of a certain somebody’s big day. But after stormy skies & a musician gone mad turned into a foiled afternoon & two tickets to a canceled tour, things were definitely not going according to plan. Fortunately for everyone involved, I chose a good & gracious man to give a bad, bad birthday present to. And by the end of the night, with the help of Wes Anderson, a pizza parlor, an incredible sunset & a couple of wandering artists who snuck up behind & sketched us, nobody was regretting the way things had turned out to be.

So that’s what I’m learning lately, cheri. Whether it’s a day date disaster, a midnight trip to the emergency room or ending up off the career path & in Jackson, Tenn., life is full of surprises. Some, like unexpected love, are better than others (like the emergency room). But always, always, life leads me to a place that’s better than what I would have planned. And for that, I’m constantly humbled, continually grateful, & closer each day to becoming a more flexible me.

J’adore.