Perspective

When you reach a certain age, birthdays are no longer exciting. There isn't the longing to earn a driver's license or vote or reach the legal drinking age or the ability to rent a car. Birthdays eventually become a day on the calendar that forces you to remember you are getting older. And, as time progresses, that day on the calendar seems to appear more and more quickly.

Last weekend, I had the immense pleasure of spending time in New York with my extended family to celebrate my induction into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. My 90 year old grandmother traveled to New York with my parents from San Diego. For my grandmother, this trip served a dual purpose. Not only was she able to attend the ceremony, she was also able to visit with her elderly sisters whom she hadn't seen in many years.

Topsy, 87; Lila (middle, my grandmother, 90) and Zena, 95

Watching the three of them together really struck a chord. I tend to focus on the present or the past, especially around my birthday. I lament the time gone by, how fast it all happens, how much things change. That is the reality of life though, and we are lucky to celebrate each and every birthday.

My sis and I, not that long ago...

I can only hope that my sister, Laurie, and I have another 40 or 50 years to nitpick, squabble, gossip, give each other advice, shop, and beat each other up in the swimming pool.

The biggest lesson I learned last weekend, though? If you want to feel young, hang out with people much older.