Some months back - maybe a year ago? - I had the delight of eating a burger with my dad. The unfortunate circumstance was my mom was lying blocks away in surgery. Nothing too serious, but there was potential for abnormalities to be found and no matter how routine, surgery of any sort has its risks. A nervous energy surrounded our time together, and also a palpable profoundness.

I remember little of the specifics of our conversation. It was the usual topics we tread: politics, religion, headline news and issues of social justice. I remember discussing the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden and the complicated set of issues related. I took opportunity for a one-on-one update of my dad's livelihood and work and the ongoing question of "when are you going to retire?" And part of it was a history lesson of the church. It was a perfect opportunity to dig into my dad's knowledge and I left the hospital with a hand mapped out timeline of the church body mergers that results in the United Church of Christ. I still have that paper and will treasure it until I die. It makes me smile. The hand writing. The content. The encyclopedia of information in my dad's head. And because it makes him happy, it makes me happy.

The part I remember most, however, and something I keep coming back to in my head. I have forgotten the context, but I was bringing up my frequent comment about the need for balance in life - take anything too far and it becomes an unhealthy extreme. The interesting thing was that my take on this all - balance - was for my dad paradox.