Lessons from a leaky tent in Kangaroo Valley
As a tween and early teenager, I was a Girl Guide (like Girl Scouts).
Our motto was “Be prepared”. For challenges and the unexpected. And we were.
When it came to preparing for a week of camping under canvas tents, there was a long and detailed check list of what to bring.
X number of socks, wellies and waterproofs. This was England after all, even in summer.
Years later, I was camping again with a friend in Kangaroo Valley, about two hours south of Sydney, Australia.
We’d borrowed a tent and a car from her cousin and off we went.
Spoiler alert, there were no Kangaroos, but we did make it to a local rodeo.
When night fell and we were ready to turn in, I was pretty confident that we had put the tent up correctly and that it would stand up to the elements.
Except it was a different type of tent to the one I was used to.
I hadn’t noticed there was no ground sheet during the warm, dry, set-up part of the day.
Nor had I noticed that the outer tent stopped about a foot short of the ground, leaving a large gap and an exposed inner tent.
It may not surprise you to hear that soon after the torrential rainstorm began, we found ourselves with soggy pillows and sleeping bags and pools of water in our tent.
It was late and bailing out water would not have rectified the situation, so we slept in the car.
Was it comfortable? No.
Had we prepared as well as my Girl Guide leader would have expected me to? No.
Was it a memorable adventure that still makes me laugh over 20 years later? Yes.
Being prepared is important, but there will always be surprises, even when you plan.
For me, part of being prepared is the ability to be flexible and pivot to alternative options when things go wrong or are unexpected.
How you respond, whether you panic or pivot, will shape what comes next.
If you want help in approaching retirement with a planning and flexibility mindset, let’s have a conversation about how we can work together.
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