Maturity

My greatest deficiency as a parent was my failure to administer sufficient beatings to instill proper discipline.

I tried the trendy "time out" and "supportive neurolinguistic programming" techniques, but am pretty sure that whaling on the kid with a hickory switch would've been more effective. Oh well. My son is more-or-less an adult now, so the environmental component of his development is complete. And of course, my genetic contribution to his personality remains in full force.

My latest injury got me to thinking about this. I'll explain more about that in a minute, but my mentioning Billy Ray yesterday was just a coincidence. The fact that "Trading Places" scientifically explored the Nature vs. Nurture argument did not specifically lead me to this discussion. It was instead driven by the fact that I'll be seeing my son soon, and I hurt myself in a way that reminded me of my own father.

Obviously, my son inherited his intelligence, athleticism, good looks, and musical genius from my side of the family. His mother contributed his ability to stay up late at night and his epicurean tastes. Random mutations that caused him to deviate from family trends would include his inability to make decisions or return phone calls, and his failure to understand the purpose of the useful invention known as a belt.

As for my own ancestral genetics, I'm afraid I must admit a certain inherited klutziness. My dad is the only person I know who has fallen off the roof more than once, has twice broken his arm playing tennis, and is a legend within my Boy Scout troop for hiking back to camp and then driving 30 miles to the hospital after breaking BOTH his arm and leg in a single hiking accident.

To his credit, none of these accidents would've happened if he wasn't out there being active. But a lot of other people have played tennis, gone on hikes, and done roof work without the same numbers of incidents. You may draw your own conclusions.

As for me, well these last few weeks have made me once again face my own fragility. I have concluded that the neck tension and soreness I felt after the Cottonwood Pass ride is a non-trivial injury, and may require medical intervention. And then on Tuesday, I severely bruised a knuckle when I slammed my hand into the front panel of a treadmill at the gym. (I probably shouldn't try to watch TV while running, should I?) I'm also feeling elbow displeasure during tennis serves, ankle pain when running, and all of my normal balance and coordination issues when trying to stand or walk. Sigh.

Life should be more than just an endless series of rehab opportunities, don't you think? Oh well, at least the good news is that I finally received my TriRock triathlon award in the mail. It's a hefty glass mug, and I like it. It will probably become my default drinking vessel now...which indicates another major shift in philosophy. There was a time when I wanted to have an all-plastic kitchen -- thinking that glass presented a breakage danger that added unnecessary complexity.

But at some point, I decided that glass was a better health choice. It cleans up easily, and won't exude long-chain petroleum molecules into my beverages. The clean-up and hygiene advantages now seem to outweigh the breakage risk.

Is this revised attitude the result of newfound wisdom and maturity? Or senility? Or am I just now at the stage where I like sparkly things?

I dunno. But my son arrives in town this afternoon, and is sure to help me put it all into perspective. Despite my failure to beat responsibility into him as he was growing up, I do have great respect for his youthful insights. Perhaps his visit will remind me to keep looking for ways to defer the aging process...and the injuries that seem to go with it.

Perhaps. Or perhaps age has nothing to do with it. After all, I was barely in my 20s when I broke my leg at Water World, broke my hand changing the oil in my car, and dislocated my fingers in a motorcycle crash -- and not even that old when I smashed my face on a diving board attempting to do a back flip.

Anyway, the point is that I have a new mug, and it's pretty. That's all, I guess. In the coming days, I will share observations about Tanner's visit, learning to use my new smartphone, and my trip to Bellingham. Should be fun, and as always, I appreciate your attendance. Have a great day!