Choice

Forgive me, FTT Nation, for the following bit of non-sports. I promise it'll route back to something you might care about in a little while.

Yesterday, the Shooter Family was out for the day to do a couple of different things, the first being to find a replacement dog for the Shooter Eldest. As you'd expect in finding a puppy, we didn't want to just get the first available mutt; there was a lot of consideration of breeds, condition, price, and how the newest member of the family was going to interact with the kids. (We eventually found one, and no, there won't be pictures. It's a nice animal and all, but it's a little girl's puppy, and I get enough grief from my Toolmates as is for being a big damned girl.)

As we were looking, the Shooter Wife pointed out that if we didn't find the right animal today, we could always go out again -- and I interrupted -- next Saturday. "Why not tomorrow?" "Um, sorry, the game's on."

Because I have the kind of spouse that enables rather than denies, she just rolled her eyes and moved on. But it's telling, really.In the last few weeks, I've reconnected with an old friend that lives several hundred miles away. In different circumstances, I could have been in the car this weekend. It was a beautiful day outside; I could have done the yard work and the garage clearing and the basement shuffling that needs to get done at some point. Hell, I've got an outline for the next book to write, a business project that really should get off the ground, and there's always more to do at my job. I could just spend time with my kids; I like doing that, too. There are, simply, a lot of things that I could be doing with my Sunday, rather than watch an 0-2 team try to save their season.

But, of course, I was in front of my set, as I have been for over 30 years, watching my team play, as if my viewing has any actual impact on the games (or, for that matter, my 1-2 fantasy team). And since the Birds put up touchdowns on their first five possessions, with Kevin Curtis setting a career high in the first quarter, with the Shooter Mom here to root it all on, it all seemed worth it. But the end result was the same as when they lose; time out of life, and whether or not you feel good about the payment is up to you.

The point, if there is one, is that the things that you do in life that are habit and routine need to be chosen from time to time, rather than just done. I wonder, on some level, just how often some of my fellow Eagles Fans (you know, the ones that were jumping off buildings before today's game) choose to watch, rather than just do it.