Journal entry: Life is relationships

First, with yourself.

Second, when you are happy, sad, fulfilled, scared, insecure, or jealous—who are you with?

No amount of money in the world will ever matter more than the people you spend your time with.

Last Christmas season, I sat at a bar next to a 92-year-old former basketball coach from Chicago. He was healthy and sharp for his age. As we talked, he shared that he’s “the last one left.” All his friends, siblings, and even his wife had passed away.

A former student had invited him to Arizona for the holidays, so he came. He reminisced about the decades he’d spent visiting Phoenix with his friends—four couples in total—all of whom were now gone. He spoke of his loneliness but also of his gratitude for the memories they’d shared. Still, he admitted he wasn’t sure what the rest of his life held at his age.

I think about him every so often.

Could you imagine? Being the last one left?