There are some things in life we just can’t change. But there are others that we most definitely can. Lately, it’s been empowering for me to meditate on what in my life I can opt out of. There are messages and assumptions that just aren’t serving me and which I have agency to change, or at least challenge.
One timely, concrete example: We have decided to opt out of winter travel (for now). 100% of our family lives out-of-state, so this isn’t a small thing to say. We have done the winter schlep in various forms over the 15+ years we’ve lived away from everyone. We’ve experienced the expected travel annoyances (see: cranky everyone due to lack of sleep), and we’ve been struck with some pretty terrible travel luck (see: an unexpected overnight in O’Hare with a toddler and newborn). For us, the whole package doesn’t feel worth it right now. So we’re opting out. Because it’s what we think is right, and because we can. But before we opted out, we first had to realize we could.
