Somewhere along the way, I became Pa. The first iteration of this term of endearment was born when we lived in New Jersey after moving there from Colorado. A friend of my oldest son (who was probably 6 at the time) called me Gus which quickly converted to Papa Gus to make it sound more official I guess. It stuck for a good while until it was shortened just to Pa. So now, there is no better sound to here than Pa from my two sons and my wife.
Bouncing ball is an inside joke with my wife. My brain goes on wild journeys bouncing from one thought to the next, loosely (and sometimes that is a stretch) connecting various ideas. After spending a good amount of time dancing around my head, I will state some observation or ask a question which is about 10 steps past where we are in the current conversation. Debbie will look at me and ask totally confused…”Where did that come from?!” I will then take her on the bouncing ball path to connect the dots for her which causes a good laugh between us. I must say, she still has not gotten much better at mind reading.
Speaking of getting better, I continually need to get much better at being fully present and engaged when I am with Debbie and our boys. Time is precious and I am learning that in a deeper way as my Dad has started to loose his battle with lung cancer. I want to make sure I am soaking up every moment and not lost in the past or the future (where my fear lives). I want to make sure I am not mindlessly lost on some screen.
There is nothing more important to me than my family and I hope this blog helps me in my journey to keep moving forward and becoming that 1% better every day as James Altucher recommends.
Pa's Bouncing Ball 