Serendipity

Have you ever had one of those special moments where you are literally lost in time? The kind of moment where your present surroundings are moot, and familiar faces, voices, and smells long absent from your life, attack your senses with potent illusions. A few nights ago I had just that feeling, and though brief, it was exhilarating almost beyond words.

As many of you already know, Aidan will have his first official Tball practice this weekend. In preparation for this joyous event, I decided to get out both our gloves and give each a good conditioning. I sat at the table, got out my "Dr. Glove" foam, and squirted a little it into Aidan's glove. As soon as the creamy foam hit the leather and I started to gently work it in to the pocket, a wonderful smell sent me into olfactory bliss and a surreal euphoria engulfed my body. WHOOOOOSH!

Suddenly I was a young kid again, and my father was sitting at our kitchen table, my glove in his hand, slowly working the oils into the pocket with the precision of a surgeon. I was standing next to him with a look of eager anticipation on my face. "Is it almost done dad" I asked. "Not yet son, we still have to do the outside, but it won't be long now" he answered. "Can we play catch when you're finished dad" I asked. "You bet tiger, just give me a second to finish up" he said, and just like that, the serendipitous moment faded back to reality.

Wow. I cannot begin to put into words how wonderful I felt at that moment. It was so vivid, so clear, it was like I actually got to visit with my dad again. Ever so brief, it was to me, a perfect moment. It was at that moment that I had an epiphany. The look I had on my face when I was waiting for my dad to finish with my glove, I see everyday in Aidan. The look and sound of pride that I saw in my father's face and heard in his voice, can be seen and heard every day in my reflection. We are truly created and formed in our parent's mold, and hopefully one day my children will gaze upon me with same type of reverence that I have for my mother and father. If that happens, I will consider my life a success.

Time is a constant, unwavering to any demands. For Time, our lives are merely dots upon it's line. Sometimes however we get a chance to fool time....to trick it...to actually pilfer from it. It is those moments, however fleeting, for which we should feel most fortunate.

William