Good Intentions

I love this quote by Neal Shusterman: “But remember that good intentions pave many roads. Not all of them lead to hell.” Wickeds, is there a time when you had good intentions and they turned out better than you thought they would?

Julie: What an interesting question! And what does it say about me that I had to think about this for a while. I had a good intention of running a half marathon ten years ago, and it worked. But only after the long road of training and mentally being prepared. Good intentions are never enough, are they? Work combined with good intentions–that works.

Edith/Maddie: Funny – the first thing that came to mind is when I intend a certain card to be turned in my afternoon game of cribbage with Hugh. When it comes up, I feel so smug and powerful – when actually the card turn was random. Like Julie, many moons ago (well, 26 years ago), my running buddy and I finished a half-marathon, except we then said to each other, “I guess Boston is next.” We trained (and trained), got charity numbers since neither of us would ever be fast enough to qualify, and we finished the entire Boston Marathon in 5:16. It was and will be my only marathon, but it left me with a lifetime feeling of accomplishment.

Sherry: Heck I feel like I should continue the exercise theme. The closest I ever got to a marathon was doing an eleven mile walk that was in conjunction with the Big Sur marathon which is on the Pacific Coast Highway. The scenery was stunning and my feet were sore. But really being published turned out better than I ever dreamed. I just wanted to publish one book and am so grateful I had the opportunity to write two series.

Jessie: I have to admit that I am not good at anything to do with medical stuff. Needles, hospitals, etc… I am not at my best. But, several years ago one of my sons needed me to play nurse after he had a serious surgery. I started to pass out when the actual nurse at the surgical center began explaining what my role would entail. Despite the rocky start, the time with my son, and the way I was able to be of service turned out to be very special for us both.

Barb: I find my best experiences with good intentions are when I show up for people in the literal sense. Go to a friend’s gallery opening, a favorite author’s book launch, watch a relative’s kid perform in a play or musical or go see an old friend’s band play a club. Don’t worry about, “Am I a close enough friend to show up at her mom’s funeral?” Just go. I have almost always walked away thinking, “That was the right thing to do. I am glad I did that.”

Liz: I love this! As an introvert, I find that sometimes I have good intentions to do something and wind up dreading it – like an event or even an conference – but after, I’m always glad I did it. Which makes it easier to say yes in the future.

Readers: Did you have something turn out better than you dreamed?