When things don't turn out the way you planned

My life has recently been changing...a lot. The job we moved across the country for, hasn't exactly panned out the way we hoped. All the reasons we moved out here for haven't come to fruition, and in addition to that, we bought a house here. Thankfully, as we look to make a change, everything has seemed to fall into place. It can be easy to look back on our last year as a mistake. We aren't really any closer to our career and financial goals now than we were at graduation last year. Sometimes, when I try to come up for an explanation of why we truly felt like we should take this job and move out here, I think that maybe it was just a good job to take while we waited for a better job. However, I don't think time in your life should ever be just a waiting game or holding period. Otherwise we would always just be waiting for the next thing instead of enjoying the moment. But how else can you look at some of these disappointing times? For me, personally, this last year has brought many important lessons in spite of, or sometimes because of, our supposed "mistake". In the last year I have learned - how to be a mother very much on my own with very little social interaction - I have really grown into my role as a mother - I have learned how to cook more with real food and encourage outdoor and imaginative play in my children. - I have seen a beautiful part of the country My husband has learned numerous things about the business he wants to run that he wouldn't have otherwise. He also was able to rethink his strategy toward his career goals and take this new job, that we wouldn't have taken without the experience we had here to help us realize its value. As a family, we have learned - how to work hard to serve in our church - how to live so far from family - how to be each other's best friends - how to get our children the help they need for their speech/processing delays It is a lot easier to look at our last year in this light, instead of as simply a holding period, or worse, a mistake. I know we aren't the only people who haven't had things turn out as planned. Thankfully it has led to something better. How do you view your less-than-desirable situations to make them better?