There was no need to hire a clown for my seventh birthday.

Six girlfriends and I piled into my Dad’s huge 1960 Chevy station wagon to drive to the skating rink for my party.

But his car wouldn’t start, so he got out and pushed it.

But he slipped and fell in the mud.

When he finally managed to stand up, he looked like he had been decorated with chocolate icing, which made us giggle uncontrollably.

He, however, didn’t find it as funny, and went into the house.

Then two shiny yellow taxis pulled up to the rescue. My friends had never been in a cab before, and their excitement made it the most memorable birthday party ever!

Later that day, my Dad said: “kids like it when something goes wrong, it’s more fun.”

That stuck with me, and often it is more fun when the unexpected occurs.

It often sets me on a better path.

The fight or flight mode when something goes wrong makes me use my creative energy to take action instead of overthinking the situation.

You can’t control the wind but you can adjust your sails

When the trains aren’t running or the car won’t make it up the hill in the snow, it changes my routine, and also changes my outlook.

It makes me appreciate how often things do run smoothly.

As I wait in anticipation for the unexpected to happen again.

Have you ever had more fun when things went wrong?