Dad Regrets - Take Vacations

Last time I spoke at Willow, I talked about home and family in the Deeper Water series. I ran out of time before I got to the confessional section of the sermon (think that was on purpose?). I listed several dad regrets.

I have three daughters ages 21, 12, and 9. I have a wonderful wife (age unavailable at the time of this post). Most of you do better than me at my first regret. In fact, some of your habits in this area helped me see how bad I was at this.

Dad Regret #1 - Not enough planned, intentional, multiple day vacations. I am talking extended time with just Yvette and the girls. It might have been a sense of self-importance or an inappropriate sense of obligation to parents. Maybe it was misplaced money priorities or lack of resourcefulness. My non-parent vacations were a day here, two days there, rushed stressed, unpack, repack.

I am not alone. No excuse though. The Real Age http://www.realage.com/ website reported in 2005 Americans threw away (use or lose) an estimated 415 million vacation days. That is 1.6 million years of unused vacation! I lost more than the days, however.

I regret the past. I am committed as of summer of 2007 (Orange Beach) to do better. No matter how unimportant I feel laying on Isle of Palms beaches end of June and playing in Stone Mountain end of July (Summer '08) its a done deal. I am with Pumba (Lion King, Disney, 1994). I am putting my behind in the past and on the beach and mountains.