Growing Up Is Hard To Do

Earlier this week I ate lunch with two students in the cafeteria. One is a former student twice-over and one is a current.  They're nice kids.  (I should say nice young people!). Anyhow, the one is a kid whose whole life until now has been baseball.  Growing up, in high school, and into college, it always came first and was most important.  But now he's looking at graduation soon and trying to figure out the best plan to complete his major...he decided to sit out this season in the event he decides to transfer and would still have eligibility.  He said near the end of the conversation something like 'the mature thing to do would be to just give up baseball, let it go...'  My response was something like 'well, perhaps.  But maybe not.'

I've been thinking about it since.  Years ago I might have given no thought to this being a choice.  I can see myself saying then, "well, yes, it's time to move forward. Be the grown-up now...". But now that I've lived a bit more (the nice way to say that I'm getting old!), I'm not so sure. I mean, if college is to mark the end of his competitive sports life, and its something he loves, it's no small decision to give it up. It occurs to me, now at this point in my life, that having something I love to do and that makes sense as part of my life isn't something I'd want to let go lightly.  Plus, what's the harm in sticking with it if the whole rest of my life I won't have it.  It's just another year or 2 in comparison to what certainly one hopes will be many more decades of experiences.

Perhaps with age has come the recognition that holding on to those things that bring our lives great joy and fuel our deepest passions and interests are the most significant. For without them what kind of life is it really?  So, I say consider such decisions with care and reflection, taking seriously whatever it is that makes you soar.

I'll close with this...whatever decision this former student of mine makes likely won't be easy.  Indeed there are costs for whatever big life choices we make.  But I wish him well, acknowleding that sometimes, maybe all the time, it's things like this that make folks say, growing up is hard to do.  I just hope that however things go, for him and us all in the midst of such moments, we remember where we find joy and seek to embrace and follow that.
Til next time...