Am I Really Too Old?

My mother clearly thinks so.

Last week I sprained my knee - grade 2 tear of the MCL I think the doctor said - playing hockey. I'm not really sure what happened, but I think I caught an edge, causing me to fall and slam into the boards. No one was near me, nor was I moving all that fast. Nevertheless, I wasn't able to continue playing that night, and the visit to the doctor a couple of days later resulted in my wearing a brace while the ligament heals. Hopefully, I'll be back on the ice in a few weeks, albeit with the brace under my shin pad.

Now back to my mother. We spoke a couple of days after the incident and she made it very clear that I was too old to still be playing hockey. "It's time to stop that," is what I remember her saying. Those who know Mother Featherston know she's nothing if not direct. And I think my brothers would agree that she continues to take seriously her role as mother and not-so-gentle voice of reason, even though we're all in our 40s. In other words, I expected nothing less. Just think what she might have said if I told her that before I played hockey that fateful evening I'd gone snowboarding with our middle schoolers. I'm certainly not too old to know there are some things you don't need to share with your mother.

So, back to the original question. Am I really too old? I guess the answer is that while my body may, in fact, be too old to keep up with my athletic aspirations, I'm not mature enough to know when to stop.

Sorry, Mom.