Familyman: Leaving Texas

I love Todd Wilson's latest post to his FamilyMan list. He makes a good point.

Hey Dad,

Hope this doesn’t offend any of my fellow dads in Texas, but we were all glad to leave the Lone Star State. I’m thinking we had a little too much unplanned time there…or maybe it was the way those Texans drive! Not only do they drive on the shoulder of the road…and are OK with that, but they have some mighty mixed up on and off ramps in their cities.

I’m sure we were almost killed at least a couple of times. Poor Gloria (the voice on our GPS) never talked so fast, “Get in the right lane…bear left, no I mean right…not that right lane, the other right lane…watch out for that oncoming car…Ahgggg!!! Can someone please unplug me?”

Whew! I’m getting worked up just writing about it.

Anyway, the kids and the RV are doing great, but all the time in the RV tends to put a strain on our marriage. In fact, I’m thinking about writing a book entitled “The Familyman’s RV Marriage Guide for Men.” I’m not sure of all the details, but I’ve been thinking about at least one chapter entitled, “The longer you wait to fix things, the harder they are to fix.”

Not only does it apply to RV problems like leaky toilets, tail light issues, and smoking motors, but it also applies to marriages…especially mine. You see the problem is that I’m a glass half-full kind of guy. I like to assume that things will get better on their own if I ignore them. Problem is…they don’t, especially when it applies to marriages…especially mine.

So, when I can tell that my wife is out of sorts, I kind of like to think that all she needs is a good night’s sleep. So, I plop into bed and go to sleep instead of dealing with it. Next morning, I wake to find that my wife is not over “it”. Instead, she’s a little MORE out of sorts. A few ‘sleeps’ later, and I’ve got marriage issues.

I’m just so stupid. When will I learn that if I take the time to address the problem when it’s first detected, it would make life a whole lot better for all of us? Because the truth is: the longer I wait to fix things, the harder they are to fix.

So, Dad, if you’re like me and have some “things” to fix, you better get at it.

You ‘da…Mr. Fix-it,
Todd Wilson

Thanks, Todd. Point taken.