An Experiment In Not Rushing

For the past three years our home preschool group has taken advantage of a great offer at Sea World in San Diego. With the right qualifications, our group is able to get in the park for an unbelievably cheap price. We will not be doing this fun outing again next year, but I'm grateful for the fun we have been able to have.The first year we went, Troy was unable to go. I decided to go anyway and braved Sea World with a super active 1-year-old Ben and 3-year-old Lizzy. We had fun but it was challenging. Last year Troy was able to go with us. Now, please understand that I love my husband, so what I'm about to write is not intended to make him look bad, sometimes the facts are just the facts...

Troy is not a Sea World person. He isn't a museum person. He wants action, high adventure and death defying opportunities (like Magic Mountain). Sea World requires one to stop, look, listen, feel, stop some more, look some more and so on. When we went to Sea World as a family, we were done in about 2 hours. He was ready to go home.So, this year, when Troy couldn't go again, I decided that if the children wanted to look at the same dang fish all day long, I wouldn't care. My intent was to just let them be in control of the day and enjoy myself no matter what. I didn't rush us to get to the shows, or hurry on to the next exhibit. I just let them enjoy their time.I didn't even bug them to pose for pictures - which my children hate doing anyway. I just snapped the shot and didn't worry if they were looking at the camera or smiling perfectly for the picture. It is amazing how that takes a lot of stress out of a vacation day.We had a wonderful, wonderful day. I really look forward to going back someday and yes, I did tell Troy he could only go with us if he would be willing to exercise patience throughout the day. He said his feelings wouldn't be hurt one bit if we went without him and I believe him.You know, the longer you are married to someone the more you learn to just let them be them. You can't change someone, and you shouldn't have to completely change yourself to fit their desires either. You can just let them be who they are and love them. Interestingly enough, this concept is true with EVERYONE, not just spouses. Life and Sea World is so much more fun when this little secret is applied.