Go With the Flow

In February, my younger kids’ school closed for three days because the classrooms were needed for a conference.

Staying home would have been easy. We’re so busy most of the time that I considered kicking back at home and relaxing. But where’s the fun in that!?

Instead, I called up my friend Monica to see if we could stop by her place in southern California for a visit. She was all for it!

I took the three younger kids to California while Jeff and Jack stayed back (Jack still had school). We rode bikes on Coronado Island, went to the yacht club and just had a great time playing and hanging out on the beach. We also visited my friend Ashley, and all the kids (ages 7 to 16) got along great.

We’re so blessed that we live close enough for a short trip, where we could spend time together. And because we stayed with friends the whole time, it wouldn’t have even mattered if we didn’t do anything once we got there. We weren’t looking for a whirlwind adventure. We just wanted to hang out and have some fun.

But don’t think we had all the fun. Jack and Jeff had a random invitation that Friday to go skiing, so they headed out of town too.

My takeaway from all this is this: Say yes to invitations that you wouldn’t otherwise say yes to. And invite people on adventures that you wouldn’t normally take. It’s really easy to say no and stay home because it can be a hassle to pack up and leave town. Or because it’s expensive. But getting out and about is good for you and good for your kids. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to get out there. But I’ll bet that once you do, you won’t regret it!