Enjoying Time with My Son

A couple of months ago one of my son's had an accident while working and dislocated his ankle and fractured his foot. As a result, he has not been able to drive so I have been picking him up in the morning and dropping him off at night. As we travelled to and from Edmonton, we have had some wonderful conversations on just about everything and the time passed quickly.

He still has the issue with bone chips that are continuing to move around in his ankle and the surgeon is monitoring them, but he is driving again and back to doing the work he enjoys. Although I am very happy about that, I am also somewhat sad that our daily visits have come to an close.

He is an amazing young man and on more than one occasion I remember asking him "How do you know that?" He is like a sponge and seems to absorb all kinds of information.

I have been very blessed to have not one, but two wonderful sons.

An article I read about a year ago came to mind as a result of a situation that occurred at work this week.

Although some of you may already have read this article, I think it sends a powerful message and worth sharing.

"A brand-new Little League baseball coach called a friend for advice. The friend who had coached everything from soccer to track with his kids, told him, "I always started by numbering the bases."

The new coach was surprised. "What do you mean?"

The friend explained that the first year he coached Little League, he laid out the bases and had the kids line up. "To warm up, let's have everybody jog around the base path. The first four kids took off towards third."

"Ever since," he said, "I've numbered the bases and explained that you have to run them in order. You'd be amazed at the number of kids who go from first to third by cutting across the pitcher's mound."

The moral: Never assume people know what's obvious to you. Explain what they need to know.

This concept certainly is not relevant only to baseball, but to all aspects of our lives. It certainly was applicable to the situation at work.

Growing

I just finished another Tai Chi class and still have the energized feeling I always get at the end of each class. It does not matter how I am feeling mentally or physically at the beginning of a class, I always feel great at the end. I have always been fortunate in having a great group of people attending the classes.

The questions asked, observing and understanding why someone's body moves the way it does really helps with improving your eye for detail and being more aware of your surroundings as a whole.

This took me on a journey down memory lane and I thought about the many people who have attended the classes over the years. For many years, Sifu Robertson was there each and every Saturday morning and I looked forward to the challenging conversations, questions and in his case, "non questions", that would undoubtedly come up during the class. They would cover anything from correct positioning of the body, movement, flow and the list goes on and on.

I realize the value in sharing knowledge and encourage students to ask questions as this is how one grows, especially in the beginning. I see each person as an individual and what works for one may not work for another and I find the challenge very exciting. That is one of the reasons why I truly appreciate each question that is asked or thought that is shared as this gives me an opportunity to continue to grow and I hope it gives others the opportunity to grow as well.