Sometimes in life family simply has to come first.
That's the case right now for Hearts hitman Liam Boyce as he enjoyed an international break at home with his loved ones after stepping back from Northern Ireland duty.
The 30-year made himself unavailable for selection by boss Ian Baraclough as the Northern Irish contested a string of World Cup qualifiers and a friendly against Estonia.
The former Ross County man missed out as they faced Lithuania, Switzerland and Bulgaria in crucial qualifiers.
It wasn't an easy decision, but Boyce feels it was the right one as life at home was getting more and more hectic.
“I've got a few things going on with family,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News.
"My son’s only five months and my daughter’s just started school about a month ago. Living in Edinburgh with no family nearby, leaving my missus on her own with two kids, a dog and no help, I took the decision it was better for me to stay at home.
“When you go away for ten days it is tough for my missus. I didn't want to leave her in a tough situation.”
Although pleased with where he's at right now, enjoying life in Edinburgh and his football at Tynecastle, Boyce has left the door ajar for an international return.
The 28-times capped man hopes his strong scoring start to the Premiership season keeps him in the picture if and when he decides to come back.
He added: “Never say never but at this current time with everything going on I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do.
"A lot of the travelling, even in the summer, does have an impact, your season carries on.
“Last summer I think I had two days where I wasn't training. I came back from Northern Ireland then had two days where I didn’t do anything then I had to start running and getting ready for pre-season again.
"I’m 30 now, you get to that age and you’re going away and I wasn't really playing a lot for Northern Ireland. You do all that travelling, you’re not playing and you come back feeling stiff from all the travelling then you have one day training before your game on Saturday. It does have an impact.
"That and my family reasons that’s the decision behind and it has worked well. I’ve missed two international breaks and started the season. I want to keep that going.”
