KISS

"You probably got it all figured out, Corey. If you start out depressed everything's kind of a pleasant surprise."

Lloyd Dobler

This morning I was watching a news story about a woman who's destination wedding went horribly, HORRIBLY wrong. 
First of all, when she arrived to her New Orleans hotel, the grounds didn't look anything like they did in the online picture. There was NO GRASS. The hotel offered to lay down green carpet for her. Can you imagine? Green carpet. As if!
Second, her flowers arrived and some of them were dead! Newsflash: they were all dead. Admittedly, some did not look as if they were freshly cut.
Third, her fiancé's rented three-piece suit arrived and it was the wrong size.
Fourth, on the day of her wedding, while they were taking pictures, it was really humid and after several photos, they had to unzip the back of her dress and put ice packs on her back. She thought she was going to faint.
There were a couple things running through my head as I watched this little story, but the big thought was this:
If that bride would have kept things simple she would have had a much better day. It's my firm belief that the more epic your plans, the more epic your potential for disappointment. I admit, the pendulum swings both ways and epic delight is also possible with ones epic plans. However, it's been obvious to me since I was 15 years old that the more worked up I got about something, the more I tried to control the world around me, the more disappointed I would become.
Much better to roll with the punches, go with the flow, and keep it simple stupid.

• A dance where I spent four hours getting ready was always more disappointing than a dance where I threw an outfit together last minute.

• The 16th birthday where I'd pictured the car in the driveway, complete with giant bow became hugely disappointing when what I actually got was a volleyball.

• Slaving over a time consuming breakfast of blueberry-orange french toast served to a bunch of eat-to-live boys becomes nothing more than self-torment. 

Except when it comes to personal integrity and virtue, I don't think there is anything wrong with low expectations.  Figure out the one or two things that are most important to you and focus on those. Then let everything else go. 

I'm much happier when I think about how dry and warm I am in my house rather than how nasty my carpets and floors are. 

I'm thrilled that my kids don't complain when I have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner that their lack of appreciation for a fancy meal doesn't bother me. Much. Anymore.

When I attend church events with absolutely no expectations, I have a blast!

For me, a big part about keeping it simple is not looking out, but looking in. Stop paying attention to what everyone else has that I don't, and focus on all that I have. 

I have a lot. I have enough. I have everything I need. I am happy.

Keep it simple stupid.