One of my favorite authors, Jon Acuff, in his book Finish encourages readers to trade perfect for finished when it comes to pursuing their goals. The idea is that something imperfect and finished is better than a goal never realized because we don’t consider it perfect. Steve Jobs said it another way when he said, “Real artists ship.”: Meaning that, at the end of the day, what matters most is that we see the project through. This idea has become my mantra in the phase of life we’re in with Jack right now. Especially when it comes to this project.
Over the past several months I’ve let perfect be the enemy of good and it’s distracted me from putting my thoughts onto the page for far longer than I would like. If you go back and look you’ll find that I haven’t updated the Life with Jack series in 12 weeks. We’ve made loads of memories and grown together in those weeks, but I’ve neglected writing them down by and large.
A lot has been happening in those weeks – we’ve vacationed with friends, Jack has grown physically and cognitively by leaps and bounds, and Jack and I have logged quite a few miles on my bike. We’ve done it all while running around at a pace that is demanding and worthwhile all at the same time. It’s been a ride and I can say for sure that I’m continually becoming a better version of myself because of our little family.
This week we went through our normal rhythm: work, day care, playing together with some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sprinkled in while we prepared for Grandma and Grandpa’s arrival. We spent the week cleaning the house and making arrangements because we spent a long weekend with Allison’s parents in Pigeon Forge. On Thursday we drove to Pigeon Forge where we rented a cabin and spent several days hanging out as a family. Thursday was spent shopping a little, checking into our cabin and and settling in.
We spent Friday at Dollywood and Saturday at Splash Country. This was a new experience for Jack and he wasn’t quite sure what to think about all the rides, but we made really great memories. I hope I can remember the joy in his voice when he said, “Yay, grandma!” as he and I were riding the bouncing frogs at Dollywood and the joy he had discovering the water in the kids’ area at Splash Country. I used to pity people stuck in the kids’ areas at theme parks, but now some of our family’s most treasured memories from this phase are being made in those very same places.
It was a fun, relaxing weekend and a large part of it being a fun and relaxing weekend for me was due to the decision I made to disconnect from everything. I deleted social media, I refused to check my work email and I even read a book about disconnecting from my phone while we were gone. I felt significantly less anxious throughout the long weekend and I’m coming back ready to tackle projects and play catch up. In the end I didn’t miss out on anything and I believe this is going to become a regular practice for me.
There’s been one thing I’ve been thinking about for a while and I spent a lot of time thinking about it in week 98. I don’t know about you, but it feels like the pandemic drastically shrunk the capacity I had worked so hard to create in the years since I graduated college. Now that I’m returning to semi-normal rhythms I’m struggling to do the stuff of life at the same pace I did pre-pandemic. I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with myself, but I started coming to terms with reality this week. I think I owe a lot of that discovery to the fact that I disconnected from all the normal noise for a few days. No email, no insta reels, and no mindless scrolling.
I’m trying to be gentle with myself and those around me and I’m learning how to sort through the baggage that has been left behind by two charged years. More than anything I’m fighting to be present and not in the kind of way people talk when they’re avoiding responsibility. I’m trying to make the most of the time I have right where I am as a husband, father, friend, and minister.
That’s what this project has been about – counting my time so that I’m more likely to make my time count. Even on this journey I’m looking back and wondering how the time has passed me by. You can read more about what I’m trying to accomplish through the Life with Jack project by clicking here.
Thanks for taking a few minutes to stop by. I hope this post was worth your time!
Did you know I’ve got a pretty big trip coming up in 8 weeks! You can read more about it here!