You just go

"Are you working this weekend?"
I asked James.
"Yeah."
Yeah, he is.
"Good. I'm not."
He gives me the Igor look.

Have you ever watched Restaurant Makeover? My oldest kid looks a lot like the long-suffering head carpenter in charge of the renovations. Thinks a lot like him, too. Which is to say he's often thinking things like: "What the fuck are you thinking and how did you ever get stupid enough to think like that?"

I know what else he's thinking. That Doug's house is only half done, the first phase of Jon's renovation is done and could be starting up again any day, there's a house for Constructive starting within a few weeks way the hell out at La Casa, one for Richard in Armstrong and three, count 'em, three houses for Devco in the Foothills starting within the next couple weeks. Not to mention Matt's windows, the trim job in Stepping Stones and any odds and ends that have been forgotten until the phone rings.

"Why not?" The face still classic Igor. Like when the custom-ordered granite bar arrives and it's a foot longer than the room it's supposed to be installed in. Or whatever. Like he'd like to believe in me. Like to be believe there's an answer I could give that would adequately explain an unexplainable situation. But like he doubts it.

"Cause we're going hiking in Granby this weekend."

The Igor deepens.Various distasteful suspicions are confirmed. Like that he was born more responsible than I'll ever be. That at 18 years to my 45 he's now really left me in the dust.

But that's his problem.

Cause here's the thing. If you waited to do everything you want to do until there was nothing else you should probably be doing instead, you'd never do anything. Me, that is. Maybe you're different. Good for you.

I've so far done and seen a tiny fraction of what I want to in my life. Did I mention that, somehow, I'm already 45? The travels and trails that I have managed to embark on have all happened in spite of a lot of good solid reasons why they shouldn't. And they've all cost me because of it. In obligations unmet and in the approval of the sort of people who have their shit together. The massive list of things I haven't done is massive because goodness and solidity win out way too often.

Not this weekend, though. Never yet hiked in Granby. Ridiculous. It's in our backyard. To hell with the list.

Sometimes, at least, you just fucking go.