Don’t stop

“Sherm, when you stop, you die.” This was “advice” from one of my first bosses. Extreme? Maybe, but his point wasn’t that we need to over-schedule our lives but rather live them well and work hard. I’ve always taken this to heart. Life is worth living. Live it.

Through the lens of our son, Jake, who’s 15, I thought about this quote this past weekend. Generally, as a family, we’re on the go — we love to do stuff and embrace all that our community has to offer.

On Friday, Jake had basketball for four hours and then went to the Drake concert in Downtown Milwaukee with a friend. I had a full day of meetings, went for a run, and finally sat down at about 9 p.m. I had to pick Jake up after the show — which meant getting home at 12:30 a.m. We were up at 8 a.m. on Saturday, left for Green Bay (a 90-minute drive) — attended a wonderful family reunion on my wife’s side, and got back home at about 7 p.m. After, of course, a mandatory stop for snacks at Kwik Trip. Always stop at Kwik Trip.

So, we’re back home for 10 minutes and Jake says, “I’m kinda bored.” Now, he could have reached out to friends, played X-Box, or a number of things — but, he says … “let’s go golf.” He’s only played 3 times, but he and some friends have embraced the local par 3 course of late and he wants to refine his game. Don’t all golfers?

I haven’t played golf in years, but still have clubs. So, we loaded up the SUV and drove 3 miles to Lake Park. Why not? You stop. You die. And, a long walk on a short course always satisfies even when it sours after a shank or missed putt.

We had a blast, walking, talking, and teaching. He’s still learning the game — and, even though I don’t play a ton anymore — the muscle memory is still there so I hit the ball pretty well — if I do say so myself, And, Jake … being the great son he is had several — “this is the life, Pops — you and I on the links” comments as we played.

Darkness fell, and we headed home. My wife and daughter were already asleep, so he suggested we watch a show, Swagger, which he loves on AppleTV. We made some popcorn and dove into it.

Sunday came, and he was up early to train and play basketball and then, before noon off to a friend’s lake house for Sunday Funday. Dang. That’s good living.

You might not have the stamina of a 15-year-old and you may roll your eyes at my former boss’ “if you stop, you die” advice — but, you shouldn’t as it’s good to embrace staying busy and always the right choice to cherish all this life has to offer.

Enjoy the week, and don’t stop. Onward!