Making Choices--Carolyn R.Wilker

 

Going on holidays presents an array of choices once you get there, or even in the planning beforehand.  You can stay at a Bed and Breakfast or hotel or stay with friends nearby, if you’re fortunate enough to have that option.  Perhaps tenting or even a cottage.

Once you get to your destination, there are even more choices : what to do next. If it’s a relaxing vacation you’re looking for, you might take along a few good books to read, or sit and visit with others. Or perhaps you’re going swimming or playing tennis or hiking. And there are always the decisions of what to make for meals.

In case you’ve not already guessed, we’re on vacation. We’ve been pondering and planning for awhile on how to fill the time.  But maybe not all of it. Our family made plans too. It’s a much-desired and needed time away from  our regular work schedule.

            Today we attended the Lakefield Literary Festival with our grandchildren and our daughter  to see  children’s authors Ruth Ohi,  Aubrey Davis and Helaine Becker, which proved great entertainment for a Saturday July morning.

Back at the trailer, our daughter and son-in-law made plans to take us a boat ride across the lake to their favourite ice cream shop. But we learned, when the boat would not start, that the trip needs to wait a few hours until the boat battery gets recharged.

            We may make plans, but even those may not always work out. Some things are beyond our control, but can be resolved, and the boat ride is one of those. It can wait, but the blog post can be written while a  young one has a much needed nap. 

These choices, which involved planning and packing, now result in this time away to enjoy time with family and in the outdoors . Not all choices are that easy though. While the road seems smooth and the trip fun, there are times that our choices are much tougher and have a more lasting impact. As in Robert Frost’s famous poem, “The Road Not Taken,” where the poet ponders which road to take or leave for another day, there are many important ones to be made over our life’s journey, some of which may actually be harmful to you or others, and have eternal consequences. How we conduct ourselves at all times is important, how we live with and among others shows our values and morals.

So let us make those choices wisely, yes, even while on vacation. May your summer be safe, and enjoyable.

And that boat ride... was worth the wait, and the ice cream too.

www.carolynwilker.ca