Well, the first radio show last night had a very rocky start. The “direct connect” button that allows me, the host, to get on the air didn’t work so nobody could hear me. I had to call in on the same line the listeners use, but the first couple of times, it asked me for my host PIN. Both times, it said, “PIN failed.” Finally, it worked on the third try, but there was 4 minutes of dead air at the beginning of the program! I expected some glitches, and we really considered this a test run. Things will get better. The callers all had amazing questions, most of which helped the other listeners. There were powerful moments, too. Lot’s of tears peppered with laughter. Once we get all the kinks ironed out, I think the show will be life-changing and enlightening for many. I’m trying to get the link for the podcast, but now, when I click on my studio page or the link I gave you guys, it gives me the error message: “Bad request (Invalid hostname.)” Yet another glitch. I’ll post it soon, though.

My husband and I are on the road headed for Little Rock to chill with Jim and Laura. It’s so cool that I have my own little hotspot so that I can get my work done.

Here’s a recycled post. Since I’m on a vacation of sorts, I’m going to rely on these rather than post new material. Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!

Me: What can we do about skeptics and why are some people so skeptical, like I was in the beginning?

Erik: Ha, that’s the fun of it all! C’mon, if we were talking about, and everybody in the world believed in a table, where’s the drama? That table is gonna be old news. It’s not gonna be discussed or played with or, uh, it’s just gonna be (in a monotone voice mimicking boredom) “The Table.”

Me: Yeah.

Erik: We need those skeptics to fuel the learning for the rest of the world.

Me: Oh! So, I guess we need the provocation in order to bring up the questions so that we have a reason to present the answers.

Erik: That’s right.

Me: Okay, but why are the skeptic, Sweetie?

Jamie giggles at Erik’s response.

Erik: Cuz they’re assholes.

Jamie and I laugh.

Me: Well, I think it’s okay to be an open-minded skeptic, but it’s the closed-minded ones—the ones whose mission is life is to debunk and tear down anything they can’t see, touch, smell, hear or taste—they’re the ones I simply don’t get.

Erik: Wouldn’t it be great to imagine that those skeptic were up in Heaven, in Home, and they were all just pissy and they sucked and we just threw them back into a body as a jail sentence?

Jamie laughs.

Erik: Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Me: Oh, yeah, I bet they get the shock of their lives when the cross over, too!

Erik: Course it doesn’t work that way at all, but the thought is fun. No, they come back and play that part of the contract, that part of the role.

Me: Oh, I see. So you’re saying that a lot of times, there’s a spiritual contract involved. Is that so we can begin to debate, question, and strive for the truths, the answers?

Erik: Exactly.

Me: So, they’re really not true assholes. Well, they’re assholes by contract.

Erik (as if he were in a TV commercial): “Though they play one on TV.”

Me: Ah, okay. Now, do you have any advice for parents, in general? Just general advice.

Erik: My general advice is listen to your child. They’re smarter than you believe.

Me: Yeah, most of them are smarter than we are. The rest definitely think they are, at least when they’re teenagers.

Erik: And don’t be afraid to ask them the big questions. Really, okay, okay, okay, Two things.

Jamie: He slaps his hand down. He kind of looks like a ratty 007, you know, with that suit on. Why are you, uh, it’s like a tux, but no bowtie or cummerbund.

Me: That’s funny, because he liked to either dress ratty or dress up. There is no in between with that guy. He used to put on his “Pappa suits,” as he’d call it.

Jamie: Yeah, he’s got a Pappa suit on today.

I pause and think about that wretched day at the funeral home when the director asked Rune and I what we’d like them to dress him in. When we told him he loved to dress in a suit and tie, even when he didn’t have any place special to go, Rune and I looked at each other and said, “one of his Pappa suits.” Then the tears flow.

Me: Yeah, he loved looking sharp.

Jamie: Yes, he looks sharp but he’s got a, (to Erik) Dude, comb your hair, you know!

Erik: Nah, that’s the style, Jamie.

Jamie and I giggle.

Erik: Okay, okay, two things. Don’t ask your child what they think. Ask them how they feel.

Me: Ah, yes. Just feel, just feel. We all analyze way to much.

Erik: If you do that with a kid, it’ll blow you away! Second one: It’s not about rules and authority, it’s about boundaries and respect.

Me: Yeah.

Erik: No more rules. Just use boundaries. No more authority. Just use respect.

Me: Awesome.

Erik: That’ll blow you out of the water, too, about how much they respond to that.

Me: And children are so much more connected to spirit, so they have a wisdom that we adults have often lost, so yeah, we need to listen.