One of my worst fears when visiting someplace new, especially someplace far away, is that I won't have enough time to see everything I want to see. It's a difficult fear to overcome. Even as I sit here writing this, I'm still struggling with it.

In my head, the struggle is between my inner child and inner parent. The child wants to see it all and see it all now. The child believes this will be his one and only opportunity. He believes missing a single sight, a single landmark, a single museum, will mean the end of the world.

If I stop for a second, I notice my inner child sounds eerily similar to how I sounded when I was six or seven, when I wanted the latest toy or game. "Everybody else has one. Why can't I?" I remember saying to my parents. Now that I'm an adult, that refrain has become, "Everybody else has been there and seen that. Why can't I?"

My inner parent sounds eerily similar to my dad when he had to deal with a younger me -- the way he stressed each word, emphasizing the fact that he was the voice of patience and reason. My dad's softer, calmer method of convincing me was always more effective than my mom's louder, more passionate plea to stop driving her up the wall with my whining.

My inner parent explains that even if I had more time, I still wouldn't be able to see everything. He gets sidetracked reiterating the concepts of limited resources and the importance of setting priorities. He finally gets back on course and promises there will be future opportunities. "If you like it as much as you think you will, you'll make it a priority to return." He throws in, for good measure, an adage along the lines of, "Be happy with what you have and make the most with what you've got."

After hearing that, a younger me would continue to fight, refusing to accept the reality of the situation, and making myself miserable to prove a point. An older me is more inclined to shuffle his feet and grudgingly accept the argument. They aren't the words I want to hear, but they are the ones I need to hear, even if it's only me talking to myself.