I recently did an interview on a YouTube channel with a guy named Steve Anderson. In the span of 39 months, Steve lost his daughter, wife, and mother to cancer. And in response, Steve and his son have tricked out two off-road trucks and go on crazy adventures.

Here is the interview if you want to see it. And here is Steve’s Instagram account where he documents their adventures. 

In the course of the interview, Steve talked about how he and his son talk over CB radios while they go on their trips. Steve even made that point that he and Will communicate better over CBs than they do when they’re in the same room together. Here, check out the clip:

It made me ask myself: What are my channels? How am I connecting with my sons as they become adults?

My channel with my own father is: We see each other a couple times a year. We talk on the phone once every few months. We get along great.

But honestly, that’s not good enough for me. I’m gonna require a much stronger channel with my sons. And I’m hoping to get some advice from folks reading this. We’re just at the point where the kids are no longer under our roof, and I’m trying to figure out the connection and communication.

The channel with Jack is pretty easy: Baseball. We talk about it all the time. We watch games together, or text each other during games. Each year we do a baseball trip together (were going to Texas in a couple weeks). Plus we always hit a bunch of Yanks games over the course of the season.

My channel with Alex has traditionally been hiking.

But he’s in now college and he doesn’t really hike, so that channel is a little loose. And I’m not sure he’s gonna prioritize hiking as a young man once he’s out of college. So Alex’s channel isn’t as secure. I call him on the phone once in a while, but I never really like talking on the phone. We text a decent amount too, but sporadically.

And look, I get it. I’m not their priority. They’ve got stuff to do and they’re learning how to live their own lives. They want distance and autonomy. So do I. 

But I still want to find that channel. So any wisdom would be appreciated.

Check out the video with Steve Anderson. You’ll love it. Lots of a heartfelt stuff in there.

Oh, and of course, if you like NuckolBall, you’ll love the hysterical, thought-provoking, page-turner that is my book, Taking the Brick. It’s coming out in a few months and you should…

Click this link and preorder the book right now.