Hidden Treasure

It started about six months ago during a phone call.

Hello, How’re you doing mom?

I’m ok, who’s this? Your son, Paul.

Well, boy why does your caller ID say Washington?

Uh, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m calling from Washington. Hum.

Just about every other time I’d call, she would ask me the same question about my caller ID, so one day I decided to mix it up a bit.

Boy, why does your caller ID say Washington? Cause that’s my name mom. I'm Boy Washington. She laughed, and I laughed.

My mom's 87 years old. She has some dementia.

Whenever I call now she calls me Boy, instead of Paul. It’s become our inside joke. I’m Boy Washington. We both get a laugh out of that. My mom's laugh has become a precious treasure to me. It sounds like the innocent giggle a little child makes. It’s sincere and real. 

One day, I’ll share more with you about the woman I call mom, but for now, I'd like to focus on moments like the one I’m writing about. Treasured moments, if we allow them to be special in our hearts. You see, it could be frustrating to answer the same question over and over again about why my caller ID says Washington instead of my name, Paul Hebron. Changing what could have been a frustrating experience into a treasured moment only took a moment of awareness, humor and empathy. I now have an entire chest filled with treasures like this because I look for them. Each day brings me another opportunity to treasure hunt.

Prior to this article, not many people knew about this treasured moment with my mom. Now, you know. I challenge you to go out and hunt for your treasure, then add it to your treasure chest of precious moments.

Update: My mother passed away on January 22, 2017. I'm honored and thankful to have been called, "Boy Washington" and discover precious treasure in everyday moments!