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.