A few weeks ago I posted a silly entry about “point of view.” I mentioned that I’m an extreme optimist. I actually really love this about my personality. But on the other side, it lends toward something not so good about who I am. This week I discovered another way this “point of view” isn’t the best thing in the world.

Where this point of view comes in handy is when it comes to getting things done. I’ve a firm believer that one can do (or get away with) almost anything if one is committed to the task. I set goals and then I get them done… usually. It’s part of my DNA.

However, where this is a weakness is that sometimes my “goals” are not realistic. There have been times where Sara would call me and ask me when I’m coming home. I’ll reply, “15-20 minutes… max!” Forty minutes later I’m still at the office. Unfortunately, she got to the point where she didn’t trust my optimistic expectations. Not a good thing. That’s where the optimism affected my character. I’ve been working on this side of things.

This week I saw another area from growth in regard to my “point of view. Yesterday I posted about my near-Christmas disaster. Like I said, I’m a get it done kind of guy. On Sunday when I saw Sara starting to get sick and overwhelmed with Titus, I took action. I knew we had to leave on Wednesday night, so I started doing laundry and cleaning the house. I wanted to make it as easy as possible or us to get out on time. Even as Tuesday came around, Titus hadn’t been eating, I still had my sites set on a Wednesday departure. I wasn’t doing a good job of letting it go. I went to bed Tuesday night pretty disappointed (actually an understatement). I finally got okay about not leaving on Christmas Eve, but was still looking at what a Christmas morning departure might look like.

Then I started listening. Sara had been saying it all along, but I wasn’t listening. Titus was weak, we weren’t traveling across the country if things didn’t turn around significantly. Once I “heard” this, I started to accept the situation. We may not be going to GA. I didn’t like it, but I was okay with it. The health of my son and sanity of my wife were way more important than me “getting it done.”

I know there is a lot to unpack her and I’m still processing it. Interesting how even a strength can turn around and bite you in the butt.