Embracing the Unplanned: Lessons from Unexpected Family Moments

Plan for the Unplannable: Life with 7 Kids Ages 12 & Under

With seven children ages 12 and under, my motto has slowly become: plan for the unplannable. My husband tells me almost daily how much of a planner I am, and I realize that truly defines my personality.

I schedule dinners with friends a month in advance, vacations a year or more out (I even brainstorm the next trip while on vacation!), and thrive on weekly meal lists and daily schedules.

However, I’ve been humbled: what day ever goes exactly according to plan? Yet, I’ve learned the unplanned always leaves a story to tell. (Really — is your interest immediately caught if someone begins with, “My day went exactly according to plan?”)

This past month, we had two notable “unplannable” events.

Event 1: Emergency Room Visit After a Roughhousing Accident

The 2024 summer had gone quite well — great trips, lots of time with friends at the lake, and no accidents to report.

But two of my boys felt they needed to fill the void of unexpected during those ending summer weeks.

It was a weeknight, and our usual trip to the karate dojo was cancelled due to a town power outage. We had a standing weekly dinner with my dad, and Paul and I were looking forward to a calm evening. While I was meal prepping, the kids were playing and running around. Nine-year-old Kateri was roughhousing with three-year-old Gregory. The play quickly turned south when Kateri playfully threw Gregory onto the couch but misjudged the landing. Gregory ended up with a gash right above his right eye from hitting the wooden edge of our couch.

As a mom of many, I know when a cut needs stitches. Paul and I moved quickly. He called my dad, who was five minutes away, to finish grilling dinner and watch the kids while we headed to the ER.

Taking a three-year-old to the emergency room for stitches is a two-parent job — and moments like these remind me the guardian angels are hard at work.

At the Hospital

Gregory received two stitches above his eye. He was a trooper, especially after receiving what we call “woozy medicine.” The next morning, he only remembered the double popsicle he got as a reward. Kids are the best when it comes to teaching adults resilience and focusing on the positives. Thankfully, the stitches were dissolvable. We’ve also sarcastically vowed never to have a “no-commitment” evening again — somehow, that’s when accidents happen!

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Event 2: Theodore’s Finger Injury and the Bird-in-the-Dishwasher Incident

Just a couple of weeks later, during our second week of school, another unplanned event occurred.

The Day’s Chaos

Mondays are always hard after busy weekends, but the day went relatively well. Kids completed their schoolwork, and I squeezed in a workout before a karate fundraising meeting. While I was exercising in the basement, seven-year-old Theodore was wiping down the bathroom sink as his chore. Suddenly, Drew came running down in a panic yelling, “Theodore is really hurt and there’s a bird in the house!”

Totally perplexed, I ran upstairs, and sure enough Theodore was bleeding heavily from his finger, and a bird was flying wildly around the kitchen. Paul also heard the chaos from his office and ran up to me. While the bird was flying desperately around the kitchen and we were trying to figure out what happened whether the bird hurt him or not, I felt since the dishwasher door was in my way, and I slammed the dishwasher shut, accidentally trapping the bird inside.

Seriously – what are the chances!?!

Paul looked at me and said, “The bird is in the dishwasher.”

I could barely process, and responded “Well, we will run the dishwasher and clean everything when we get the bird out.”

Paul eventually handled the bird while I tended to Theodore.

We figured out – no, the bird did not touch Theo. Yet, I realized there was a trail of blood around the house and he was too distraught and panicked that he would need stitches and miss his karate class, that he had tried hiding the cut. We eventually put together that he caught his finger in the self-closing hinge of the bathroom cabinet door. The wound looked like a door had jammed hard on his finger — deep and oddly shaped. We reminded him to yell for help in serious situations (a lesson repeated often with kids).

Urgent Care Visit and Stitches

This time I wasn’t sure if stitches were needed, because it was such an odd, shaped wound, but I couldn’t stop the bleeding. Instead of driving 40 minutes to our trusted hospital, we went to urgent care. I should have known better. Unfortunately, the urgent care wasn’t kid-friendly; the doctor was not great at calming Theodore and threatened to leave the room if he didn’t stay still. I managed to distract him with a game on my phone while he got five stitches on his little index finger. The cut was small but deep, which required more stitches. I also learned: always choose a reliable pediatric emergency room for a better experience!

Lessons Learned: Embrace the Unplanned

I’ve had many moments like these, from ER visits to cleaning up baby messes that go far beyond the usual. These interruptions can throw off even the best-laid plans—dinner with Dad was a no-go that week, and the fundraising meeting? I made it, but very late. Experiences like this have taught me the value of adaptability and flexibility. It’s a healthier way to navigate the ups and downs of motherhood—and especially the daily realities of homeschooling.

Poor Theodore also learned a few hard lessons.

Here’s what I’m learning (and still working on):

Plan for the unplannable, because it will always happen—whether you have 1 kid or 12.
These moments teach flexibility, calmness, and making the best decisions in the moment.

This applies to homeschooling too. Moms often ask me how to schedule their day, and here’s what I’ve learned:

Plan an order of events instead of strict time blocks.
Prioritize tasks rather than assigning exact times.
Think of your day as having a “spine” that can bend with curveballs.
And sometimes, tasks simply need to roll over to the next day—and that’s okay. This is where adaptability is applied at its finest!

Final Thoughts

Both Gregory and Theodore only have stitches and scars—thank goodness nothing life-threatening happened. I’ve learned to embrace our wild home and always find gratitude. It’s better to have a full life with interruptions than an empty life without them.

And really—what’s life without a good story to tell?

Lastly… who else has ever had a bird in the dishwasher? That one definitely is at the top of my “unplannable” book for sure! 🐦