Age

So in the last week, Kobe Bryant ruptured his Achilles tendon and had a massive, pain med fueled rant on Facebook that was pretty genuine. Any athlete who's played at a competitive level knows the angst of an injury derailing your plans and ambitions. There are two things I learned form this, though:

1) He did this doing a step he's done "millions of times" in the past. Why did it fail him this time? Because:
2) He's 34 years old!

I had NO idea Kobe was that old. In my head, he's still the teenager the Lakers signed who was Michael Jordan's "successor"; a bold statement especially since Jordan was still playing. Now he's at the tail end of his career!

This hits home on a more personal level. I've been in a malaise for a while so my friend Chris was coming down to hang with me and Cleo. We've been friends for about 20 years (he's the godfather of Cleo), and Chris has always been, in my mind, the big tall athlete. Back in the frat pledge days, I remember fondly when some of the "alpha male" upperclassmen would fume when they could not beat Chris at sports. Since then he's continued doing stuff like running marathons and doing triathlons. I was really looking forward to him coming down on Monday, but sadly I received this phone call:

Chris: Hey man, I might not be able to come down today. I hurt my back.
Me: Are you alright? What happened?
Chris: Yeah, I'm okay. I was making the bed and I pinched a nerve.
Me: Wait, so you were flipping the mattress or something?
Chris: No I was... (slight pause)... Folding a blanket.

To my shame, I laughed, but at least Chris laughed along too (Thankfully he was still able to come down on Tuesday.)

One of the things I love about Chris is that he is not only young at heart, but he has a talent for drawing this out in others. However, I was worried that his back pain plus me having to tote a baby along with us everywhere would seriously crimp that ability; one guy bent over and hobbling along and the other wearing a Baby Bjorn and pulling a stroller as we roll up to a club.

Thankfully, there's a huge difference between young at heart and arrested development. The evolution of still feeling like we're both teenagers hanging out and yet being able to tend to things like childcare, work, and relationships was refreshing.

For me, it all came together on a trip to the zoo. Chris and Emily, H and Cleo and I were all strolling, still goofing around, still making fun of the monkeys, all while tending to the baby and taking time to stretch. It really felt complete. Trust me though, no matter how young you feel, remember to stretch!