Our street is built on a fairly sharp incline. As such, it is a popular place for skateboard activity. Especially with what Chandler calls “cruisers.” They are a little bigger than traditional skateboards and they have larger, softer wheels—more like roller skate wheels. They are quieter and smoother, especially since our street was resurfaced in the last few weeks.

Because of the incline, most boarders take the slalom approach so as not to gain too much speed. Except for one 15-year-old kid who lives around the corner from us, who has taken to going straight down the whole length of the street at a flat out attempt at maximum speed. He bends over with his hands behind his back, like a speed skater trying to cut through wind resistance. We are at the lower third of the street and by the time he passes us, I would say he is going at least 30 mph. He has an elaborate stopping technique that utilizes a gloved hand on the pavement as he pivots sideways and grinds to a stop. I swear he goes from 30 mph to 0 mph in about 3 feet!

So you can imagine my concern when Chandler announced he wanted to show Marti and I his new skateboard move and proceeded to race down part of our street to us displaying the aforementioned speed skating technique he had obviously seen demonstrated by our much more experienced neighborhood daredevil. As his speed increased, I began to wonder how he was going to stop. Little did I know he had never tried this before and hadn’t thought that far ahead. His method up until now was to simply jump off the board using his legs to keep up the pace he was going before he jumped, and then slow himself down from a run to a walk to a stop. What Chandler had failed to calculate was whether there was a point at which he legs simply could not catch up with the speed of his body.

I am at a point in my life where I need to learn some things I should have learned a long time ago. As such, I have found myself making excuses for the time it will take me to adjust, and thinking I have the rest of my life to work it out. Except then I realize the rest of my life is a lot shorter than it was 40 years ago. I don’t have time for a learning curve. No one around me, myself included, has time for “baby steps.” I feel very much like Chandler racing down our street, realizing I’ve got to hit the ground running but wondering if I can run fast enough to absorb the speed of my life right now.

Poor Chandler, he didn’t make it. His legs simply couldn’t keep up with the speed of his body. It was a good thing his mother was there so he didn’t have to be tough and act like losing a layer of skin on his elbow and shoulder didn’t hurt at all, not to mention the blow to his ego.

And me? Well you’ll know if I’m still around in the next few weeks whether I landed and stayed on my feet or not. Life is a challenge and God doesn’t do everything for us. Sometimes we’ve got to hit the ground running just to keep up.