Sunday Morning Drive

So here we were one recent morning, driving back from a terrific weekend getaway in Vail, Colorado. The leaves were changing, and the autumn breeze created that recognizable shiver that somehow seems to penetrate through the skin and the fascia and straight to our bones. It’s a welcome shift to a fantastic season when nature reminds us of the beauty she possesses and consistently unleashes year after year.

It’s about a ninety-minute drive from Vail to our home in Lakewood (seventy-five minutes when I’m allowed to use my heavy foot). But on this day, I was soaking up our surroundings, so I did something I seldom do. I drove in Sunday morning drive mode.

Now for those who don’t know me, this is as rare as Halley’s Comet. I’m normally quite focused on efficiency while driving. Not this day, though. Our son was in the back, my wife was to my right, and I was taking in all nature had to offer. And that’s when the all-important question came out of my wife’s mouth. The question that all men want to hear while they are soaking up an inspiring moment they wish they could hold onto for longer. The question that makes atom particles redirect in the opposite direction.

“Honey, would you mind listening to this potty training audiobook I downloaded?”

Now, I didn’t slam on the brakes, drop an expletive or even moderately lose my composure. Nope, instead I took one last look at the grand piece of earthly art on display as I drove 70 mph past it, and gazed deeply into the eyes of my spouse. “Of course we can honey.” For the remainder of the scenic drive, we listened to what I must admit was a rather entertaining prose on the ins and outs of potty training. Some were common sense and others were . . . well, not so common.

Somewhere in the early chapters, the mood turned intense when we had to answer yet another deeply thoughtful and resonating query. “Do we call it poo, poop, shat or create a new name for it?” Our Sunday morning drive went from relaxed autumn splendor to the NORAD bunker under a sign referencing DEFCON 1! (Wargames reference there). I mean, can a man get a second cup of coffee before he has to answer these types of questions so early in the morning? Perhaps even an Irish one to muster the mental fortitude to address it appropriately? For the next few minutes, we tried to come up with an answer. While there are certain times when I’d like to pause and rewind during life’s conversations, this was not one of those times. I don’t believe we ever settled on what we’d call our child’s defecation, but at some point, we’ll need to discuss it again.

My takeaway from this experience is that sometimes we focus energy on topics that may create less of an impact when more significant topics could move mountains. It’s not easy to be self-aware in the moment and to ensure our mental energy is spent solving true challenges that warrant the necessary time and resolve. In the interim, my wife and I will eventually settle on a name, and it won’t be a crappy one. I realize most of the world is on pins and needles until we do, so have no fear. We’ll be thoughtful without moving at a glacial pace to form our conclusion . . .