Expectations
By Bernadette A. Moyer

Expectations are something that we all have and are also often what makes us upset or disappointed or even sad and depressed. When something doesn’t go the way that we believe it should and our expectations are not met, we become disappointed and maybe even disillusioned.

Last Saturday I made an appointment at a local car dealership and expressed interest in test driving two vehicles. Several phone calls and messages later I was certain we were set for our 10:30 a.m. appointment. It was a rainy Saturday morning and when we arrived we were met by our salesperson and almost immediately passed off to a “specialist” who did NOT have the vehicles I requested ready and started asking questions like; “what do you need to have in a vehicle?” and when I pressed him about seeing the cars I inquired about we ended up walking through the car lot in the heavy rain.

Inside I could feel myself getting upset, my expectations were not being met and ultimately I made the decision that I was not going to do business with them. It was almost comical how he chased after us and then his sales manager chased after us. We drove off the Jeep dealership lot in a Jeep we already owned! That day we expected to buy a new car and it didn’t happen.

A week later I went to purchase another Jeep and my experience was wonderful and met all my expectations! The car is so much nicer and the experience was so much better.

We are just a few days from Christmas, a holiday that brings with it much anticipation and often high expectations. Will it be as magical as all those Hallmark movies and Christmas cards? Will we feel that special “spirit” of the Christmas holiday? Will we receive and will we give that perfect gift? And how about that special Christmas dinner, will it meet all of our expectations?

Do we expect too much or not enough? Will we feel the love from our family and our friends? Our level of expectation is almost equal to our degree of happiness.

The longer I live the more that I understand the only person I have the right to place expectations on is myself. We set ourselves up for disappointments when we expect others to respond the way that we would respond.

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” Alexander Pope

I don’t know that we could live our lives without any expectations but I do know that one of my very favorite phrases is “exceeded expectations.” This holiday season I wish that everyone has their expectations met and even exceeded.

Merry Christmas and wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy 2019!

May God continue to bless us all …

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