In the rush to get stuff done, I tend to be towards the front of the pack. An old boss of mine claimed that I had a: “Bias for Action!” Most of the time it was intended as a compliment.

Still suffering from a bias for action, I find myself moving towards impacting people from the stage, studio or through written words like today. The creative process is like a gyroscopic spinner in my head that is typically running until my head hits the pillow. Often it has interrupted other people’s lives or activities due to my inability to shut it down. Flying airplanes and handling dogs shuts it down due to the focus and concentration required by those activities. Distracted pilots and distracted dog handlers both get in trouble they don’t want pretty quickly. Fortunately, I married so well that Sarah considers this mostly an asset. She claims that she married the youngest and most spry fellow on the planet.

As the aging process is unavoidable, there are other things that generate their own level of importance that also chill my brain out. While grandsons tend to wind me up with things like ‘Grandpa Camp’ designed to keep in shape by keeping up with me to sports activities where my participation at some level is required. Granddaughters tend to chill me out with activities that get me “Out of My Box”. Don’t get me wrong, we still do rock climbing and some epic physical stuff, but we also do music, dance and some things I am still absorbing and learning.

One such thing was highlighted last week when we picked wild berries for cobbler and jam. Perhaps not being ready for that was a benefit, because I just entered the focus mode and let my attention fully drift to my granddaughters who were alongside and picking for all they were worth. It was quiet and fun activity that drifted into a peaceful yet productive time where my girls enjoyed some quiet time with me.

Yeah, let’s do some more time well spent!