Division of Labor

So, back to our travel to Whistler, Canada...

First of all, it was beautiful.  Love visiting in the mountains.  God does such amazing work!

This was not our typical trip.  Usually when we go on these business awards things, we take advantage of lots of the pre-planned tour packages and stay BUSY!  It's always fun, even if some of the tours aren't always favorites when we're done.  Even the first year we traveled without kids, though we didn't do any of the "tours," I walked Christopher to death through the streets of Boston.  We had so much fun!

But this time, we were just exhausted from life.  It was difficult to justify spending extra money on the tours when we really desire for all our "extra" money to bring Hadassah home.  Well, that and a Zip-trek through the mountains just doesn't appeal to my fear of falling.  (Really my fear of heights isn't so much heights as it is falling...I can rock climb as long as some body has a good hold on my safety rope!)

So what did we do?  NOTHING!  A whole lot of nothing!  We'd eat breakfast, go to whatever meeting-thingy we had to, and then take a nap.  We'd wander into the Village and eat a late lunch while window shopping.  Then we'd make it back in time to Skype with the kiddos before dinner.  Then cuddle in bed watching whatever we could find to fall asleep to on the TV.  Ahhhhhhh...just what we needed.

Originally we had hoped to go back into Vancouver to see the city's China Town, but it got back to the dollar issue.  Riding a bus for the 2 to 2 1/2 hour one way trip was going to cost us over $200.  That was cheap compared to a taxi ride or renting a car!  Christopher just could see spending money so I could go shopping for things from China when all I really want to do is go to China so I can take my sweet, baby girl shopping before bringing her HOME!

One of the things we did, however, was to walk the trails around Lost Lake.  We didn't go hiking.  And though the bike trails looked fun, we didn't even bother to rent bikes.  We just enjoyed the adventure of the "short" walking paths. 

With the map in my pocket we actually ended up on a trail when we crossed the street to avoid meeting two bears reported to be in the bushes by the sidewalk.  Somehow wandering into the forest seemed like the better choice.  Because we started somewhere in the middle of some trail, we never really knew exactly where we were until we were almost done. We had been told that the path around the lake was about 5K (or 3 miles).  So we took off for the unknown. 

I had declared that this was just going to be a "leisurely" walk. 

After a while, I heard the first report, "Do you know that you are walking at a 12 minute mile pace?"  I was also informed that this was quite a brisk pace.  (This from the guy who used to do triathlons and now just runs at least one marathon per year.)

Uhm...this is how fast I walk! 

I am a mom who must keep the gang going! 

Places to go...people to see...things to do!

Schedules!  Activities! 

Of course, I did have to make frequent photographic stops.  Love digital cameras!  I won't even claim to be a real photographer with my point-and-click, but I'm loving taking pictures of whatever strikes my fancy.

Lots of things caught my eye.

Then came the next reports.  Time checks.  How long we had been walking.  Conversions from kilometers to miles.  Recalculation of the distance of our journey.

We did finally find Lost Lake! 

After great discussion over path options, with much map pondering, we continued onward and enjoyed the beauty around us.

The final report - We walked for 1 1/2 hours!

So what does all this have to do with anything? 

Well we are now just days away from celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary.  Maybe not too long by some standards.  But for modern-day marriage, we almost qualify as an "old married couple."

After all this time together, we have become settled.  We have patterns of behavior and systems for living life.  Throughout our time together on this trip, Christopher kept recalling how much he missed traveling with me last year.  When traveling with our kids, he had to do MY jobs! 

I read signs. I study the maps.  I organize and pack things (usually at the last minute before we need to leave for the airport).  I make sure we have medications and first aid supplies...just in case.

Christopher?  He keeps track of time and money.  He navigates through crowds.  He make conversation with strangers.  He handles all the "cocktail party" interactions that overwhelm me.

Both of us have strengths and weaknesses.  We've learned through time how to work together.  I can't say the path is always smooth, but it works well for us.

Rocky had some great insight!  Everybody has gaps.  The secret to our "happily ever after" marriage is that we have learned how to fill in each others gaps.

Love my man!