Choosing Between Two Good Things

My dad, who is 74, loves to snow ski. And it’s been so fun for him in the past couple of years to ski with his grandchildren. So off we went to Colorado, the week before Christmas. 

I enjoy skiing, too. And right now I’m in almost the best shape of my life. I would have been able to hit the slopes with ease. Instead, I holed up in the condo for our entire 6 day stay. 

I tried to explain it to my children, but they didn’t quite get it. And I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t have understood at their age, either. You see, I as we readied to go, I became painfully aware that I had to choose between a good thing and a better thing. 

It would have been fun to ski with my dad, my husband, my kids, but I knew that would mean heading home exhausted from early mornings and all day activity. (When we ski with my husband, we arrive at the lifts when they open each morning.) And looking ahead to 2012 told me that the year would not slow down from the new pace at which our lives seem to be running. Add in the fact that once we arrived back home, all the joyous chaos of Christmas and the New Year would be up on us. So I chose better over good. I chose long run endurance over short term enjoyment. I still had fun with the family in the evenings, but my days were filled with restful activities--reading, working a puzzle, going to lunch with my mom. 

I hope I get to ski with my family again one day, but it wasn’t meant for this trip. I knew it deep inside. And thankfully I heeded that still, small voice. I know I’ve been a better wife and mother this holiday season because of it. 

When Work is Play

We went on vacation to Colorado a couple of weeks ago. And I determined it really would be a vacation. I didn’t even take my laptop! Granted, I wasn’t completely unplugged. I still had my blackberry for emails and my ipod touch for facebook and twitter and reading blogs and stuff. But for the most part, I relaxed.

We played games. (I lost every one.) We hiked a bit. (I did it, even if I didn’t like it!) We watched movies and read. (Four books in seven days. Now that’s what I call a vacation!) And a couple of afternoons, my husband and I journeyed into the town to scrounge up a bit of history, for that is what we love.

And did we find a treasure trove! Not only were many of the buildings along the main strip built in the early 1900s, but the historical society also had a nice little (free!) museum with quite an array of artifacts. I took more pictures of those than of the waterfalls and other vistas we viewed. Oh—and we browsed two antique stores, marveling at the finds we couldn’t justify paying money to own.

To some (like my teenaged sons), that might not sound like much fun. But when it comes to research, my work is play. With each new piece of history, be it information or artifact, my mind automatically churns back to another era. I file away the details, the feel, the smells. I imagine a character, a scene, a story. I get lost in the possibilities. And since vacation is about doing what you enjoy instead of what has to be done, I guess I was blessed to be able to spend my time doing just that, even if it doesn’t sound like much fun to anyone else!