second best is just as good
Sometimes things don't go like you planned them. We were all set to bike to Lexington for a picnic and to see the parade, and had invited lots of friends to join us; we had even convinced some of them to go ahead with the plans despite the cold wet weather. And then they went and cancelled the parade. Dismayed but not defeated, we had a picnic at our house instead.
acceptable substitute
If I forget for a moment that we might have had a nice long family bike ride, enjoyed a spring picnic, and watched a big parade, it was a wonderful time. And actually it was pretty easy to forget with the house full of friends, kids, and babies. And food: lots of food. We didn't have any march music but early American choral music set a period-appropriate tone, and we pretty much just sat around eating and chatting for a good four hours while the rain beat down outside.
Harvey and I, at least, tend to take changes of plans pretty hard. We're happy to do all sorts of things, but once we get an idea of what's going to happen we have a hard time changing gears. And indeed, he started the party by fighting with a friend and then rolling himself up in his blanket on the living room floor. But four hours gives you a lot of time to get used to an idea, and by the end he was delighted with the day. As we prayed together in his bed, I thanked God that we had such a joyful day even though our plans changed. "What were we going to do, again?" he asked me. So it was a good lesson for both of us.
Of course, I can't help but mention that this was our second consecutive rained-out holiday picnic on a patriotic holiday; maybe we can put something together for Memorial Day to try and break the streak.