Callum and Augusta wake me up early for a video chat. Callum is silly and chatty and worried about the firetruck he sees in his book. Not much disturbs that boy but a fire siren is one of those things that is distressing to him. Video chats are pretty incredible for grandparents who are far away. Rudy has breakfast and leaves for golf. I get my walking shoes on head out the door. But not before I have downloaded a podcast on my phone. I need a little something to get me mulling over some new ideas. This podcast is by This American Life and is called Is That What I Look Like? It explores the ideas that even if we think we know ourselves really well we are often surprised by other’s observations. It can be superficial (our physical looks) but perhaps more jolting is when how we perceive ourselves (character and actions) is completely different when viewed by someone else. Certainly this is food for thought and worth mulling over. But also frustrating as I think about the number of people I know and how they might each be able to make an observation about something about me that I am totally in the dark about. Do I need to start quizzing people? Is there any purpose to that? I guess that these observations might help me make changes but to be at the whim of everyone’s observations seems tiring and might knock the ground out from under me. I am tired even thinking about this. Perhaps I will go to the pool for a swim or maybe ride my bike. The observations needed when doing these activities involve watching for cars (biking) and taking note of the concrete edge of the pool when swimming. Yup. That’s what I’ll do.