Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures. — Lewis Carroll

I’m a planner. I schedule hair-washing days. I calculate how long an outing will take before I say yes. I pack extra snacks, chargers, and emergency tissues in every bag.
So when someone suggests jumping into a pool or taking a last-minute detour, my first instinct is usually:

“What about my shoes?”
“I didn’t plan for this.”
“It’s too inconvenient.”

I like structure, control, and practical choices – and most of the time, that serves me well. But recently, I’ve been learning that a little spontaneity can do something practicality never will – it makes life feel lighter.

Not long ago, my boyfriend and I discovered we only had three simple ingredients to make our dinner. We could’ve just made something quick and easy (what I had suggested) – but he suggested we try making handmade spring rolls…. oh and gourmet style mash potatoes. The kind of recipe that requires carefully attention while placing the fillings and folding the sticky rice paper. I hesitated. Was it practical? No. Did it take three times longer than expected? Absolutely.
But it turned into an evening of laughter, messy counters, and those little shared glances that say, “This is ridiculous, but kind of perfect.”

It reminded me of this quote from Alice in Wonderland’s author, Lewis Carroll:
“Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures.”
And I thought – yes. That’s what I want to give myself. A life not just of systems and productivity, but of delight.

Sometimes we forget that adventure doesn’t always look like a passport stamp or a spontaneous road trip. It can be the little detours that interrupt our routine. The ones that make us feel free and fully present.
It’s dancing barefoot in the kitchen in-between stirring your dinner on the stove.
It’s saying yes to a last-minute sunset walk, even when your to-do list is calling.
It’s letting go of “should” in favour of joy.

And honestly, I haven’t always been good at that.
But I’m learning.

So, if you’re a practical person like me – someone who weighs every pro and con, who plans your week around when to wash your hair – I invite you to sway. Just a little.
Say yes to the thing that doesn’t make sense.
Make the dinner that takes too long.
Jump in the pool with your mascara on.

Because sometimes the best memories come from the plans we never made.