Precious Resources

I used to think that my most precious resource was energy.  If I could just get and keep my energy up – my energy to focus, to remain upbeat, to work hard – I could accomplish anything.  That energy seemed to be in shorter and shorter supply (especially as I gained weight), and I treated it as the most valuable thing in my life.

This week I finally came to the realization that my energy is not my most precious resource.  Mine, instead, is the same as everybody else’s:

Time.

This last week, as I’ve mentioned, was our national sales meeting for my company.  This company is very good about having fun at these meetings – we’re still pretty small, which leaves a lot of possibilities open.  On the last night of the meeting, they took us to a place called Top Golf, which is basically a driving range that scores golf like bowling.  Now, I’ve never hit a golf ball before – I’ve always somehow found a way to not take up golf.  Since we’ve moved to Florida, though, golf has come up a lot as something I really need to take up.  The weather is beautiful, and there are courses everywhere – heck, my regular three mile run takes me by the clubhouse of one of the better courses around.  And this week I had my shot at taking a few swings …

… and it went fairly well.  I had my share of laughers, but I hit a few good shots, too.  One of the guys I was hitting with plays, and he told me that if I want to I’m going to be able to play the game – my swing is not bad at all.  This got me excited-(ish) about the idea of picking up golf.

Another thing the company does is plan a set of events, and we all get to choose what we want to do.  I chose to go fishing for reds out on Tampa Bay with a big group.

 

I grew up fishing, but it has been years.  When I moved to New York I let it get away from me – the fish were different, the water was different, the rules were different.  But I always missed it, and I always wanted to make sure my son(s) get exposed to it.

Well – I had a blast.  We didn’t have a great day – just that one keeper red between all three boats – but I did catch several catfish and there were several other kinds of fish pulled into the boat.  Spending a day on the water is just so much fun – we had a dolphin come and check us out:

And I kicked myself over and over for not having my good camera with the lens (all of these were taken on my iPhone) … because the birds were spectacular.  Pelicans and cormorants and ospreys … and a group of snowy egrets that came for a snack.

 

And then I got all excited about getting back into fishing.  And that’s when it hit me.

I don’t have time for all of this.

I don’t have time to be a finance executive in the business world, a good husband, a good father to two wonderful little boys (who deserve one), a blogger, a photographer, a runner, a triathlete, a golfer, a fisherman, a traveler, a chef, and all of the other thousand things I want to do and be good at.

My days don’t have enough hours.  My weeks don’t have enough days.  And my months are starting to not have enough weeks.  One day my years won’t have enough months, and the idea scares me.

I’m not going to give any of those things up (except maybe the golf – that’s just going to have to wait), but I’m going to have to work harder to prioritize.  Husband and father come first – the rest we’ll have to shake out.  One benefit of running and losing weight is that my energy level is rising, and I’m going to need it.

Because there’s a lot to do.

And miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep.