I am surrounded by boxes and piles of stuff yet to be packed.
Headphones on my ears send the soft sounds of The soundtrack to The Natural through my ears.
A Father Makes A Difference is the track in specific and I suppose it is appropriate because the reason I am about to set out on another adventure is to make a difference.
Some people have questioned my plans but I don’t pay attention to people who aren’t affected by the consequences of listening to or ignoring their thoughts.
That is because so much advice is clothed in what is comfortable or awkward for the person sharing those words and not what is best for those they are speaking with.
My kids are probably tired of hearing me stress the importance of trying to make smart decisions and why it is critical to stay calm when everyone else is panicking.
But they also know I don’t fear making mistakes and don’t want them to do so either.
There will always be reasons why some choices make us comfortable and reasons why we prefer to stand where we are and not move.
Unless you can show me that moving is going to send us plunging into lava or over a cliff I am not a fan of endless waiting.
Sometimes you take the step into the cornfield and see what lies on the other side and that is what this next change in our lives is about.
It is an informed changed based upon real data and my gut.
It is me listening to my heart and hearing my head say go for it because what we have been doing until now isn’t working.
A Father Makes A Difference
It is almost 18 years since we said goodbye to our dear friend David and more than 20 since he first told me he had a brain tumor.
I remember several of those early conversations quite well and how he told me he was proof that sometimes “shit happens.”
It was always with a smile and we always said we’d take his experience as another reason to be prepared for anything.
Those of you who knew David and his five flashlight story are probably smiling now because he was very consistent in his approach to being prepared for what could happen.
I like to think part of the way I honor his memory is by taking some of those lessons to heart and that is why I am focused on making some changes now.
It is why we are taking steps to change our living arrangements by choice and not because we have to.
If things go as I expect this is the next big step in providing a better life for the family and in taking steps to see that one day I get to retire.
Remember the nameless few I alluded to above who questioned my choices?
Well they’re not the people who risk the consequences of action and they’re not the people who will benefit from it either.
They are just people who shared their fears and now I’ll share mine.
My biggest fear lies in what happens if I don’t take this shot and the massive regret I’ll feel.
I won’t be the batter who strikes out with the bat resting on my shoulder. There will be no called third strike.
I Am Not A Tree
I am not rooted to the ground nor is my family.
If and when required we’ll simply pick up and move or more likely we’ll just duck, dodge, shift and pivot.
Good things in life come to those who are willing to go get them and that is what we’re going to do.
We’re going to go after it. We’re going to live hard and we’re going to experience life because that is what it is all about.
This is so timely for me, mate.
My wife and I just recently came back from a weekend in north Ontario (we’re in the southern part). The difference was immense.
As much as I love where we live, up there it’s all greenbelt, lakes, and wide open spaces. Peace. Quiet. Simply put, the less stressful version of life we all want to live.
Property is affordable, the kids would have an amazing space to grow up in, and you make life as busy or as quiet as you want.
We’re seriously considering upping sticks and moving, probably next summer.
The fear, of course, is that jobs would be left behind, and we’d either have to find lower-paying work there, or try and reignite the old consulting business. Which is fine without kids, but when you have little mouths to feed, it becomes more of a risk.
But, like you say, we make what we aim for. So, perhaps it’s worth the risk.
Thanks for the reminder of life being a series of paths that all lead the same way in the end.
Hey Danny,
The decision to move for me was pretty simple because the finances made it a no brainer. There was every reason to take a shot at making a better life for us little risk not to move.
It didn’t take much contemplation to realize how disappointed I would have been had I not taken the chance.
As much as I didn’t want to uproot the kids the upside for us was too big to ignore. I wish I would have done it when mine were younger because it would have been even easier then.