The text came on Sunday afternoon from my daughter who’s home from college. She knew I was off work the next day and needed what she calls the “basics”— solid colored shirts, t-shirts, and jeans. She asked to go shopping together, about two hours away from where we live.

The truth is there are plenty of places to shop closer to home. It would have been easy to say let’s just stay local, go to the nice mall up the road, find stores you like that are twenty minutes away.

But doing what’s easy is not always what’s best. Especially when it comes to relationships and especially when it comes to parenting.

Every day, we have countless opportunities to take the easiest, yet least satisfying road. It’s easy to prioritize convenience, comfort, or self-interest. It’s easy to say “that’s more work… let’s just do something else”.

But what’s easy is often boring. And life is not meant to be boring, it’s meant to be lived.

Had I had said no or suggested somewhere closer I would have missed out on what I call “the good stuff”. I would have missed out on four hours of conversation in the car, time to talk about silly things and serious things. I would have missed out on singing to Mama Mia like we always do. I would have missed out on hearing her future goals and plans. I would have missed out on sitting across from her at lunch and seeing her beautiful smile. I would have missed out on hearing this wonderful person sitting next to me reflecting on her past disappointments and being able to say “everything happens for a reason”.

I would have missed out on small moments that matter big. You know, the good stuff.

Getting what we want in life means putting a certain amount of love, effort, and hard work into it. Nothing good in life comes easy or without getting out of our comfort zone.

It’s the trade off. And it’s the pay off.

Being a parent is so hard and challenging, grueling some days. And Lord knows I’ve made many mistakes and things I wish I could redo. But the one thing I know for sure is that when we do the things that matter the most, instead of just easiest, our hearts are full and we connect deeply with those we love most.

💛💛💛