Forever Young

Darren and I used to play together as children. He lived next door, and we would spend all our time together: swimming, playing kick-the-can, building hay forts, hiking through the woods. We didn't let a little issue of gender get in the way of good friendship.

It's strange now to think that Darren's all grown up with children of his own. I mean, I know I'm a year away from having two of my boys graduate from high school, but Darren is supposed to stay my childhood buddy.

I recently got some news from Darren that has comforted my aging awareness: his lifelong passion for hockey has not diminished a bit. He just returned from a magical week at a Wayne Gretzky hockey camp, and his blog about it makes him sound every bit as young as he ever was.

Does that mean I am too?