Balls

For the last couple of months I’ve been teaching myself to juggle. I learned the basic three-ball cascade when I was 18 or 19 or so, but haven’t really juggled since. My excellent wife gave me some balls and a second-hand juggling book for Christmas, and since then I’ve been practicing wherever I can, a ten minutes here, five minutes there. I’m rubbish, but getting better, and can now do runs of the basic patterns. I’ve nailed the Cascade and Reverse Cascade, the Half Shower and Juggler’s Tennis — eventually I’m aiming for Mill’s Mess and Windmills and Box and Rubenstein’s Revenge. (Like mushrooms and moths, juggling patterns have tremendous names.)

Why? I’m doing it for fun — because it reminds me not to take myself too seriously, which I’m far too capable of. I’m doing it for fitness, too, and something like mindfulness. But mostly for fun.