I shake hands at meetings. This isn’t really news to anyone who knows me in meetings – I’ve been doing it a long time. Lots of people look forward to shaking my hand too (or so I tell myself).

Some folks don’t shake my hand and insist on a hug – makes the meeting feel incomplete to me, I’m considering telling them – “no hand shake, then no hug”. It’s all about me you know… usually. A former Green Bay Packer sometimes is at the meeting and insists on the hugs… but he’ll have to be told too.

Tonight a regular member of the home group came in and I saw him coming and couldn’t recall his name. See him every week, shake his hand every week, sometimes we even hug (after the handshake, so you know I actually like the guy) but his name escaped me.

I put on a smile and shook his hand and gave a noncommittal “great to see you tonight”. He even responded “You too Jamez” which is just awful, he remembered my name but I can’t recall his.

I sat across the room from him during the meeting and I kept glancing up and trying to grab his name from the recesses of my mind. It just wasn’t there. I was so focused on his name I didn’t hear many of the folks that shared not even the main speaker. Awful isn’t it.

I sat there in my seat running names through my head: John, Frank, Ted, Bill, Steve, Phil, Pete, Matthew, Ray, Todd…. nothing, nothing and nothing… I wanted to scream it was bothering me so much.

Finally I gave up and decided I’d ask him after the meeting. I can just come clean and tell him it bothered me all through and I just need to know so I can sleep… then there it was, his name, clear as day I had it…

So then I got to focus on the meeting for about 10 minutes and it was good stuff.

sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly