It never crossed my mind that I’ve become an old man. I suppose few of us truly and meaningfully notice the slow passage of time. Aside from major events occurring, one year often feels very much like the last.
Earlier this year, one of my college of architecture buddies called me out of the blue with an invitation to a reunion of sorts. His family have a large lake house in North Carolina that can accommodate nearly twenty. I checked my calendar, it was open for the scheduled weekend, and I immediately booked my travel.
It was at this lake house, on the very first night, that I realized I had gotten quite old since last hanging out with this gang. As the night progressed I sensed a slowly growing medical issue. I tried to ignore it. And then after everyone turned in, I tried to ignore it, but by sunrise I was in extreme and unrelenting pain. Rather than greeting my friends with a good night’s rest, I was exhausted and wracked with pain, and had to ask one of them to get me to an emergency room.
It was also this weekend when I realized how special this group of guys are. No one hesitated. Minutes later I was at a hospital getting desperately needed care.
I won’t go into detail regarding my medical issue. The specifics aren’t key to the story. For the rest of the weekend, my friends took care of me, made sure I was comfortable, and made it clear that even though years had passed, we all still cared deeply for each other.
Despite the pain, exhaustion, cost, and terribly uncomfortable medical procedures I had one of the best weekends of the year. And this trip had some serious competition with trips to Germany, Paris, Italy, and more. As I get older, time spent with family and good friends seems more priceless each year.
As I write this I’m in Los Angeles seemingly surrounded by fire. My adopted home of the past two plus decades is on fire. My neighborhood has been without power for several days, but it’s intact. Some parts of the city are wiped out. And it gives me reason to reflect and realize how lucky I am to have good people in my life.
In five weeks from now I’ll be gathering again with my college buddies, happy to be alive and well, and happy to spend more time with them. Hopefully this time without medical intervention.