Those of us who spend our winters bundling up against the cold, wind, and rain often feel the pull of a warm weather destination by about... mmm, mid-January. Call it the call of the conch.
My dad and his wife have become quite the snowbirds, flying south to Florida for the winter, and for several years, we have considered paying a visit to their nest. Somehow we have always found reasons not to make this trip from Vancouver: a fifteen hour travel day across North America with two small children, two flights, and a three hour time difference being high on the list of so-called obstacles.
But with three sets of parents mostly in their seventies, talk also turns to spending more time with them, and creating opportunities for our children to know their grandparents. The need to show up, to be there, to be present.... becomes increasingly urgent as time marches on.
So this year, we finally stopped focusing on what was holding us back and heeded the call of the conch. And oh, we most certainly did not regret it!
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| "Unconditional Surrender." Exactly. |
The moral of the story? Listen for the call of the conch. And follow it.
Show up. Get there. Be present.
Because it matters.
And it will most definitely be worth it!
"I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't." -Lucille Ball
