It’s 5:36am on Tuesday morning and I’m in an airplane headed west.
I’m heading west, then north. My final destination is Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. It’s not the most popular travel destination but I’ve wanted to see the north for a while and since I have a friend that lives there now it felt like the perfect time to go. Besides, the Riders are on the road in BC this week and my calendar is mostly empty otherwise.
Oops.
Over the past few months I’ve realized I have a mild fear of committment and maybe a small case of FOMO (fear of missing out). I’m wondering if maybe I shouldn’t have booked this.
As a freelancer, and someone who’s trying to make my own path in a non-traditional way, being available, flexible and ambitious is one of my strongest attributes. Being unavailable is a death sentence.
I don’t think it’s hard for people to understand that my work doesn’t feel like work at all. That’s easy. I spend most of my time in arenas and stadiums or talking about sports. It’s great.
The thing that may be a little harder to understand is that I look forward to work like most do a vacation.
I’m serious. Just try and ask me to go away.
Booking a trip is exciting. I love the thought of sipping drinks on the beach or seeing new sights but you better be 100% sure my schedule is clear to get me on board.
My head starts spinning whenever the idea of going anywhere is suggested. This includes weekend trips to the lake, week-long vacations to tropical destinations, or even buying tickets to a show weeks or months in advance.
The slightest chance that there may be a game to call, an event to host, or some other ‘work’-related item pop up makes me panic.
Give me the choice between the beach, a cold drink, hot sun and a cool breeze.. or a 14 hour day in Lethbridge, Alberta covering a Western Hockey League playoff game and the choice is easy. I’m at the rink every time.
Trust me. I’ve made that choice before.
I believe it was 2014 (I can’t fact check in airplane mode on my flight) and the University Cup (men’s hockey national championship) was being held in Saskatoon. At the same time a friend was getting married in Cuba and everyone was tagging along for a week-long vacation to help celebrate.
I drove everyone to the airport and I stayed home.
I stayed back to call play-by-play of the tournament at the Credit Union Centre (now SaskTel Centre).
Oh, I should note that I wasn’t going to be on television. I wasn’t even going to be on the radio. The games I was calling were to be carried on a webcast, and they barely paid me to do it. I mean received $40 a game.
I couldn’t have been happier. I met Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada, RJ Broadhead and Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet, and didn’t think about Cuba once.
Now I should say that this strategy is to great for friendships and relationships, although nobody has told me that it’s a problem so I haven’t paid much attention to it.
Fast forward to today.
When I first planned to take this trip my calendar was mostly clear. The Riders were out of town, the Western Hockey League season is still a few weeks away and the Canada West Football season won’t begin until I return home. All set.
Wrong.
What I didn’t realize was that I was about to get the call to be a regular guest on the Sportscage, a sports talk show every afternoon on 620 CKRM in Regina. Last week I was on the show 4 out of 5 days.
I also didn’t realize that the LPGA’s CP Women’s Open was this week at the Wascana Country Club in Regina and that our show would be LIVE from the golf course all 5 days.
I’m crushed.
Broadcasting a two-and-a-half hour radio show every day on the golf course is a good as it gets! I’m going to miss it.
That’s how my mind works. My work, my hobbies, my vacation time, my passion, it’s all the same thing. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wish the same for you. I wish that the thing you do every day is the thing you think about when you stand in the shower in the morning or just before you fall asleep at night.
But it doesn’t have to be that way all the time. I’m learning that it’s ok to step back for a few days and switch gears. It’s a good feeling when you can come to terms with it but that doesn’t mean I can’t be excited to get home even if I haven’t reached my destination yet.
It’s a crazy little feeling that is hard to explain.
I’m about to land in Calgary so I’ll wrap this up. Turns out this has been a good therapy session for me. I’m super excited to explore the north! (But that doesn’t mean I can’t be excited to get home too!)
DD
(follow the trip on my Instagram and Snapchat stories @darrendupont)