I have been juggling for 38 years now.  I had to recount the years three times on my fingers to make sure that number was right.  I remember as a kid juggling everything I could get my hands on.  My first set of clubs were old school wooden Indian clubs, and every dent in the walls of my father's house in Vermont had its own story to tell.  For a couple of years in high school I juggled a lot with a friend named John Nazrallah (If you're out there, John, I'd love to hear from you.)  We won our high school talent show my senior year, but mostly juggling was a way to kill time when we might otherwise have been bored.  It also allowed two otherwise nerds to define ourselves as, if not cool, at least unique.

I began performing more in college; I was the guy walking around Farmington, Maine with two backpacks both full of props.  I worked alone those years, but I had a friend, Rich Raymond, who was a magician.  we shared ideas and told each other embellished stories of our performances.  (If you're out there, Rich, I'd love to hear from you.)

As a single man teaching in South Carolina, I formed a juggling partnership with my pastor's teenaged son.  This was when the idea of juggling as a ministry started, and we thought we would take the world by storm.  We actually got quite good and in demand in the area, and had a lot of fun creating material together.  Our ministry was responsible for the first racially integrated service in the 100 plus year history of the Summerton United Methodist Church, and also the first integrated service at an all Black church in the area.  (If you're out there, Duane, I'd love to hear from you.)

Since moving back to New England, my ministry took off and has essentially never slowed down.  I have had two partners over the last 28 years, multiple troupes of student jugglers, and, of course, a family who have become a big part of the show at times, too.  Our two oldest daughters both performed with me before their going to college.

In the last few years I have been struggling with what it means to be an aging juggler.  I have repetitive motion injuries in both wrists.  For a while this was really causing me significant decline in my skills.  Then I spent a few months focusing on compensating for this and finding alternate ways to do the same basic tricks.  I found this to be very successful, so I transitioned my rehearsals from relearning skills to choreography, and this, too has made my routines better.

But all this was also making practice time dull, tiresome and frustrating.

Then earlier this month, our youngest daughter, Rose suddenly took off with her juggling.  She wants to juggle with me every chance she can, and she has mastered clubs, torches, machetes, fire balls, and even clubs while on a balance board in less than a month's time. She is eager to add more and more tricks to her repertoire, and juggling time is fun again.

Now that spring is here, we can slip out into the yard when we have a few free minutes  and log a little more juggle time.  She usually brings her I-pad with her and turns on the Melanie station.  Apparently you can not get radio stations featuring the music of anyone you like, and thanks to Lauren, another young lady juggler, Rose has been turned on to 60's and 70's flower child icon Melanie.  Not only does the station play much of her music (and not just her top 40 songs) it also plays 'similar artists'.  So yesterday afternoon we were out in the warm sunshine juggling to the likes of Stevie Nicks, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkel and post "Help" Beatles.  And in between routines, we talk: about God, the future, boys, relatives, school, whatever is important to a 12 year old girl. It just doesn't get any better than that.