Age is a state of mind...

I out-aged the other players on the court by a minimum of 11 years. I only knew one of the players on the team, but that didn't stop me from suiting up for the annual Alumni game at my old high school.

With 17 alumni, the recipe for mayhem was clear. I pulled rank and immediately created 3 teams, each subbing in for 4 minutes.

I am not as out of shape as I thought, nor am I in as great shape as I would like to be, but we put on a good show. At halftime, we had only 9 points and were down by 18. I left in the middle of the 3rd quarter (I'd had enough) and the word is, we made it respectable at the end, but still lost.

While the game was fun, what really struck me (and what I focused on) was the gap between the other alums and me. Not so much from the age perspective (you're only as old as you allow yourself to feel), but from a life experience perspective.

I was the only guy on the team with children, let alone 2. The only one married. Heck, the only one with a full-time job and not in college. And probably the only one with a mortgage.

I thought about the past 15 years since I graduated from high school. The things I have seen, the people I've met, and the emotions I've felt. That's what struck me the most.

When I was in high school, the alumni game was a HUGE event, the Saturday night after Thanksgiving. Somewhere along the line, it got changed to Wed. night (which I think hurt attendance) and frankly, the school has grown a ton (probably doubled or more since I was there). This affects the intimacy of the event and the fact that I used to know everyone.

Now, the high school is in a new building and I knew no one, really. My class picture is on the wall, but I found myself yearning for a bygone era.

I'd heard people say, "I have t-shirts older than you," and while that wasn't the case, the sneakers I was wearing were about 10 years old. What's more, I calculated that the seniors on the varsity (against whom we played), were Calanit's age (3), when I graduated from high school.

Still, it felt good to get out there on the court, look at the banner from my senior year championship team and take one moment to recollect. Strange as it was. I imagine I'll have more of those as the journey continues.