We’ve all heard John Lennon’s famous words: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” It’s one of those quotes that sounds wise and a little poetic, but you don’t truly understand its depth until life pulls the rug out from under you.
On November 29, 2023, my world shifted forever. I had just celebrated 64 years of marriage. My business was wrapping up on one of its best years. I was enjoying life, proud of what I had built, and grateful for the journey. Then suddenly, my husband was gone. His sudden death left me shocked, heartbroken, and face-to-face with a reality I hadn’t planned for.
Life had, once again, made its own plans for me.
In the middle of grief, I also had to make decisions about my business and my life. For decades, I had created my own gift baskets by hand and delivered many of them in my town as well as shipping across the country. But I knew that I couldn’t continue at the same pace. So I adapted.
A botched cataract surgery that left me blind in one eye for two months after his passing convinced me that local delivery had to go. I added dropshipped gifts, cutting down on the time I had to spend creating an giving me the flexability to keep doing what I loved while easing into a new rhythm of life.
For a couple of years, it felt like I had found solid footing again.
Then lightning literally struck. One of my main dropship companies had their facility hit, resulting in a fire that destroyed much of it. Suddenly, I was back to uncertainty. Would they rebuild? Would they reopen? There were no assurances.
Once again, life reminded me that stability is often an illusion—and once again, I had to pivot, evolve, and adjust my plans to keep moving forward.
That’s when Lennon’s words kept echoing in my mind: life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
We plan, we dream, we organize, and then life interrupts with its own script. Sometimes it’s heartbreaking. Sometimes it’s frustrating. But within those interruptions, there’s also room for growth, resilience, and unexpected new beginnings.
I won’t sugarcoat it – it’s not easy. Losing my husband was the hardest thing I’ve ever faced, and the temporary blindness as well as the business challenges on top of it were almost cruel. But I’ve learned something: we don’t have to have it all figured out. Because life will happen whether we’re ready or not. We just have to keep moving, keep adapting, and allow ourselves to find new ways forward.
For me, adapting hasn’t meant forgetting the pain or pretending everything is fine. It has meant learning to carry loss while still choosing to move forward. It has meant finding creativity in reinvention. And it has meant recognizing that while I may not control what life throws my way, I can choose how I live through it.
So if you find yourself in a season where life has derailed your plans, know this: you are not alone. It may feel overwhelming, but you can bend without breaking. You can adapt. And sometimes, the life that happens while you’re busy making other plans becomes the most unexpected teacher of all.
And, let me end by saying, that I’m not under the ground yet. I’m still living, making my own plans about my new lifestyel as well as my business. Life may not appreciate my plans and have others in the works for me. But it’s not over yet!
Joyce Reid