Tuesdays With Pappo: Toilet Paper Origami

TUESDAYS WITH PAPPO

#tuesdayswithpappo                                                                                         8-29-2024

Every - Single - Week....while visiting my Pappo, he asks me the same question: "Softie, what new thing can I learn?"

If you've been reading Tuesdays With Pappo for any amount of time, you know Dad has a constant need to "learn" new things. It's built into him...it's in his DNA...he's always had a hankering to learn new things. He's tried most everything including the piano, the sewing machine, the mandolin, Youtube, repairing walkers, writing stories, knitting and yes, reluctantly...embroidering, And that's just in the last 12 months!

As we ate our burger and grilled cheese sandwiches this past week at a little hole-in-the-wall diner near his home, he once again asked me the weekly question:

"What new thing do you think I could learn to do?"

Truth is, he's searching for his "purpose" at the ripe old age of 96.  His body isn't able to move like it used to.....his pace is slower....there's a limp that didn't used to be there, and his mind.... well....his mind is still 26.

But this week, I arrived with the perfect answer to the weekly question:

Toilet-Paper-Origami

As I tried selling him on the idea that there was beauty in having fetching toilet paper folds on the role, he looked up from his burger with a scowl. "Just hear me out", I said. We emprovised by tearing off a long role of paper towels that were serving as napkins on our table and started folding. Before we knew it, we had a faux-toilet-paper-origami masterpiece made out of paper towels. Admittedly, he wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was, but it didn't matter! We showed it to everyone we met and they were WOWED and AMAZED....and I'm pretty sure I saw a small satisfied smile on his face.

SUCCESS......until next week!