The power curve.

Just this morning I said something that I heard all my life. It was something my father always said. I think he said it to drive my mother crazy. My Mom is not the most punctual individual you will ever meet. My father was a punctual man. I think he hated to be late.

When travelling with my mother anywhere she knew exactly how long it took to get there on a good day when the travel gods are with you. You know you hit all the green lights; you're not stuck behind an old codger doing 20 miles below the speed limit, etc. If it took 5 minutes to get there under those conditions then Mom would leave exactly 5 minutes before the appointment/event.

Dad, on the other hand, planned an extra 10 to 15 minutes into the travel time. If it looked like your actions made some of those extra minutes disappear, my father would bellow, "We're 4 minutes behind the power curve!" I remember once when my mother told my father that she hated "his power curve".

This morning I heard myself telling my children that if we didn't hurry we would be behind the power curve. So my father lives on. He lives on by what I do and say. By my teaching my children the things he taught me. I suppose that is why some people are so insistent that their children procreate. They want some measure of immortality.

At this point I don't want grandchildren. My father always said that if he had known how much fun grandchildren were he would have skipped us. I have no idea whether this was an original thought or whether he stole it from someone else. It really doesn't matter because to me he owns those words. He took such great delight in them.

So here's to you Dad! You did your best with all of us. We know you loved us. I thank God we had time to settle our differences and find in each other great joy.