A Leap of Faith
Ever have one of those mornings when you have absolutely nothing planned for the day except to whip up a tasty Bloody Mary, watch a Hogan's Heroes marathon, and eat as much bacon as humanly possible?
Has that ever happened to you?
Go see the mountains? Am I crazy?
But before I could recover with a "Ha! Just kidding!"
...I knew it was too late. I had already passed the point of no return before I even saw the road signs.
Besides, here was my eight year-old girl looking at me with her big brown eyes, unable to contain her excitement, hardly believing she is going to get to see the mountains! FOR REAL!!
"Oh, thank you, Daddy! This is better than Christmas!" she proclaimed, squeezing her skinny arms around my neck.
Here's my inner struggle: When I was growing up, my parents had very little money. That's not to say I felt poor, but looking back on it now, it's clear we lived just above the poverty line.
As a direct consequence, I am typically pretty conservative with money. Always have been. I'm not necessarily a penny-pinching tightwad -- our finances are just fine, thank you -- but I don't spend money on what I perceive to be frivolous things (such as vacations).
I try to avoid buying things that I can't afford and I like to pay things off as soon as possible; I don't like to have any more debt than what is necessary in 21st century American life. Yes, I'm very "old school" when it comes to managing moolah.
But through the eyes of the Girl, I found myself suddenly and surprisingly inspired. I realized this wasn't about me. There are times when you have to live life. There are times when you have to take a leap of faith and just do things. After all, we are only immortal for a limited time.
By golly, this vacation was going to happen.
And I knew exactly where we should go to see the mountains.
As I quickly found out, if you don't reserve accommodations now for next August, you won't have a place to stay.
Heck, I don't even know if we can get vacation time off for summer 2015. Indeed, there are times when you just have to take a leap of faith.
But I guess if you wait for it, someday never comes.
Yet, I must admit I've always been a bit of a turd when even broaching the subject of taking an extended trip with the whole damn family. And it has nothing to do with being a miser.
The problem is this: All the travels we've ever taken in the past have inevitably resulted in the Girl morphing into Regan from The Exorcist and the Boy transforming into Damien of The Omen.
I'll tell you God's honest truth, my children are Lucifer's offspring when they travel for more than 60 minutes in a vehicle together.
But once again, I guess there comes a point time where I personally must take a leap of faith...
Can I keep my cool to Colorado and back? Can I relax and just enjoy my time with my loved ones?
Together, can we make this into a treasured family memory?
I'm not hedging my bets. I just pray nobody's head spins around during the trip. If we can avoid the ol' projectile-vomit-spewing-forth-from-the-gates-of-Hell routine, then we will have wonderful vacation.
It will be a frickin' Hallmark moment.
Still, I'm bringing a really big crucifix. Just in case.
SB
Then something totally unexpected comes up and, without warning, you find yourself knee-deep in the hoopla (to borrow a terrible line from a terrible song by a terrible band).
Has that ever happened to you?
Such was the case for me last Sunday.
It started innocently enough. The Girl and I were spending some quality father/daughter time early in the morning, snuggling in my easy chair with a blanket. We talked about school, types of wolves, crayons vs. colored pencils vs. markers, the virtues of cheese pizza, how far away the moon was from the earth...
You know, your typical eight year-old idle chatter.
Then she suggested that we watch t.v. and said, "Let's watch one of your shows, Dad."
It was too early for football, so I turned on the Science channel and we started watching a show on the geology of the Rocky Mountains (I know, that's hard to believe). Actually, we both found it very interesting.
You know, your typical eight year-old idle chatter.
Then she suggested that we watch t.v. and said, "Let's watch one of your shows, Dad."
It was too early for football, so I turned on the Science channel and we started watching a show on the geology of the Rocky Mountains (I know, that's hard to believe). Actually, we both found it very interesting.
At some point during the show, the Girl laid her head on my shoulder and said with a sigh, "I wish I could see the mountains someday."
Without giving it a second thought, I was shocked to hear myself reply, "Then why don't we go see them?"
Her eyes got as big as fried eggs and she almost gave herself whiplash as she sat up, "Can we really do that, Dad?! FOR REAL??"
"Sure we can!" I said, with a sudden burst of enthusiasm.
Wait...
What the hell did I just say? What did I just do?
Wait...
What the hell did I just say? What did I just do?
Go see the mountains? Am I crazy?
But before I could recover with a "Ha! Just kidding!"
Or "Well, maybe someday."
Or even a "We'll see if we can afford it... someday..."
...I knew it was too late. I had already passed the point of no return before I even saw the road signs.
Besides, here was my eight year-old girl looking at me with her big brown eyes, unable to contain her excitement, hardly believing she is going to get to see the mountains! FOR REAL!!
"Oh, thank you, Daddy! This is better than Christmas!" she proclaimed, squeezing her skinny arms around my neck.
No pressure, Daddy. You schmuck.
Here's my inner struggle: When I was growing up, my parents had very little money. That's not to say I felt poor, but looking back on it now, it's clear we lived just above the poverty line.
As a direct consequence, I am typically pretty conservative with money. Always have been. I'm not necessarily a penny-pinching tightwad -- our finances are just fine, thank you -- but I don't spend money on what I perceive to be frivolous things (such as vacations).
I try to avoid buying things that I can't afford and I like to pay things off as soon as possible; I don't like to have any more debt than what is necessary in 21st century American life. Yes, I'm very "old school" when it comes to managing moolah.
But through the eyes of the Girl, I found myself suddenly and surprisingly inspired. I realized this wasn't about me. There are times when you have to live life. There are times when you have to take a leap of faith and just do things. After all, we are only immortal for a limited time.
By golly, this vacation was going to happen.
And I knew exactly where we should go to see the mountains.
Years ago, I went to Rocky Mountain National Park as part of a marching band tour. I remember the place was stunning; the mountains were incredible, the scenery breath-taking. Something about the place was good for the soul. When I was there 27 summers ago, I remember thinking that I needed to come back to this place someday.
So I am. This time with my own little family.
I was now a man on a mission.
Instead of relaxing and whipping up a delectable Bloody Mary that morning, there I was at the kitchen table, in my pajamas, with pen, paper, credit card and laptop, making this vacation -- which wasn't even thought of an hour ago -- into a reality; planning activities, plotting a route, and yes, even reserving hotel rooms.
So I am. This time with my own little family.
I was now a man on a mission.
Instead of relaxing and whipping up a delectable Bloody Mary that morning, there I was at the kitchen table, in my pajamas, with pen, paper, credit card and laptop, making this vacation -- which wasn't even thought of an hour ago -- into a reality; planning activities, plotting a route, and yes, even reserving hotel rooms.
As I quickly found out, if you don't reserve accommodations now for next August, you won't have a place to stay.
Heck, I don't even know if we can get vacation time off for summer 2015. Indeed, there are times when you just have to take a leap of faith.
As I continued to plot and plan, I decided it would be fun to pay visits to beautiful Badlands National Park, Reptile Gardens (I had been there as kid and I thought it was awesome), Wall Drug (everybody needs to go to Wall Drug at least once in their life) and Mount Rushmore (a place I think every American should to see). We might even take in the Denver Zoo.
Surprisingly, the Tax Deductions seemed especially excited about seeing "the presidents' heads," even though the Girl thought Mount Rushmore was in Russia. Honest mistake.
Did I mention I planned all of this without consulting the Speaker of the House? Talk about a leap of faith... and perhaps a death wish.
But I was a man on a mission.
Okay, full disclosure here: the Speaker and I had recently talked about going on a family vacation... but reserved it for someday.
We discussed the fact that the Tax Deductions are now getting old enough to appreciate things other than Dora the Explorer and Yo Gabba Gabba!. In fact, they are getting to that perfect age where we can do fun things together as a family and they aren't embarrassed to be around us yet.
A vacation would be great. Someday.
Surprisingly, the Tax Deductions seemed especially excited about seeing "the presidents' heads," even though the Girl thought Mount Rushmore was in Russia. Honest mistake.
Did I mention I planned all of this without consulting the Speaker of the House? Talk about a leap of faith... and perhaps a death wish.
But I was a man on a mission.
Okay, full disclosure here: the Speaker and I had recently talked about going on a family vacation... but reserved it for someday.
We discussed the fact that the Tax Deductions are now getting old enough to appreciate things other than Dora the Explorer and Yo Gabba Gabba!. In fact, they are getting to that perfect age where we can do fun things together as a family and they aren't embarrassed to be around us yet.
A vacation would be great. Someday.
But I guess if you wait for it, someday never comes.
Yet, I must admit I've always been a bit of a turd when even broaching the subject of taking an extended trip with the whole damn family. And it has nothing to do with being a miser.
The problem is this: All the travels we've ever taken in the past have inevitably resulted in the Girl morphing into Regan from The Exorcist and the Boy transforming into Damien of The Omen.
I'll tell you God's honest truth, my children are Lucifer's offspring when they travel for more than 60 minutes in a vehicle together.
 |
| Another happy family fun time! Woo-hoo! |
Can I keep my cool to Colorado and back? Can I relax and just enjoy my time with my loved ones?
Together, can we make this into a treasured family memory?
I'm not hedging my bets. I just pray nobody's head spins around during the trip. If we can avoid the ol' projectile-vomit-spewing-forth-from-the-gates-of-Hell routine, then we will have wonderful vacation.
It will be a frickin' Hallmark moment.
Still, I'm bringing a really big crucifix. Just in case.
SB
