Getting older, getting better?

Reliving the past: Tabor alum Nikki Lewis heads up court guarded by Mollie Hawkins during the recent alumni game.I’ve been thinking about age a lot lately. It’s my birthday week, and I’m not getting any younger. It’s interesting, or depressing maybe, to note how students at the schools I cover are looking younger and younger. It’s crazy, really. I feel like I should still be in college.

One observation I’ve made as I’ve gotten older is I don’t think we ever feel old mentally, even though physically our bodies may tell us otherwise. I’m convinced age is relative.

Last Saturday, I attended the alumni basketball games at Tabor College. It was fun to see so many athletes return to the court who played at Tabor in previous years, including some who played when I was a student. Many others, I remember covering during my time at the Free Press.

As I sat and watched, I couldn’t help but reflect on the passage of time. I had to wonder what kind of emotions the alumni were experiencing in coming back to Tabor.

Was it was bittersweet for them to return to a place where they once held the spotlight? Granted, many of the them have only been out of school a few years, so they weren’t too far removed from competition.

In putting on the Bluejay uniform, were they transported back to their glory days when they were in their prime and their team held audiences captive in the gym on Saturday nights?

Was it fun? Or were there somber moments too as they reflected on their college experience? Had they made the most of their time here? Or did they wish they could go back? 

Physically, were they still in the same shape they were then? Or were their bodies complaining, a painful reminder that things aren’t what they once were?

I wonder if it was enough to re-live those memories in lacing up their shoes and stepping back out on the court.

In my four years here, I’ve watched as countless numbers of athletes have passed through the doors of Tabor’s gymnasium.

Time marches on. People come and go. Some things remain constant, while others are a constant ripple of change. And that’s left me asking questions of myself as I celebrate another year come and gone.

As I get older, I want to make the most of my life. One begins to ask questions such as: What is really important? Am I making the most of every opportunity? Who am I becoming? Am I living every day to the fullest, showing compassion, radiating joy and loving others?

Too often, I get so wrap­ped up in the mundane, everyday things, worrying about trivial matters, that I fail to pause to enjoy life and the people in it.

I want to be the type of person who wakes up thankful for each new day, looking for opportunities to love and serve.

Time slips by so fast. I’ve got much for which to be thankful. I’m reminded of that this time of year.

A friend gave me a journal titled, “The Grass is Green Enough!” In it is this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

That kind of positive attitude can carry us from one day to the next, as days turn into months and years.

Janae Rempel is sports editor at the Free Press. You can reach her at janae@hillsoborofreepress.com.

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