Technically, this post is day three of whimsy. Already I have failed because I fell asleep last night before I was able to complete my post. Nevertheless, I had these thoughts in my mind yesterday and so I am still counting it as "on time" maybe even "early" though maybe a bit "late." Timely, this post is because it already reflects the anxiety of the word time. And Whimsical is (I have learned) perhaps the only state of being that must be free of time or thoughts of urgency or lateness or the anxiety of not knowing when or how circumstances will fall. Ironically, we had planned a surprise grandmother party for one of my colleagues who would soon be a grandma-to-be. The day in which the party was scheduled arrived, and we found out that same morning that the baby was coming-on the same day.  Everyone around me used the phrase "what a strange coincidence" to describe this happinstance."What about the party?" "Should we just save the cake?" "Perhaps she does not have time to come home from the hospital?"

Whimsy now clouded by useless discussion of time, buts and what-ifs. 

And I took it as a sign that sometimes even what we consider the 'best environment' for planned whimsy (a party, a family reunion, a gathering) with a specific date and place and time can become unraveled in just the blink of an eye. It wasn't the decorated cake or ordered lasagna creating the atmosphere of whimsical but rather the unexpected surprise of a baby planned for next week rather than this week. Life happens. "Whimsy travels like seeds in the wind." Whimsy happens to us whether we want it to or not. Preplanning life stifles the "do part of faith." For it tricks us into believing that whimsical is extraordinary rather than ordinary. Think about how many events occur throughout the day that are unplanned. You can plan for a baby (new life) as much as you want. Regardless, it still ends up different than expected and perhaps even at a separate time than imagined. As a teacher, I find the unplanned events to sometimes if not always lead to much deeper discoveries than the planned. Magical moments require spontaneity. And let me tell you, third graders are never lacking in this ingredient. I always think of extraordinary as more than ordinary. Yet, if you break apart this word you get the word "extra." In creating the extraordinary you are including extra time constraints, extra stress, extra anxiety, extra planning. Simplify the word and one gets just ordinary. Strive for the ordinary. Release time. Embrace the whimsical.