Life teammates

“Look,” she said emphatically. “All I’m saying is we don’t agree. I don’t agree.”

For a split second on our walk through Roscoe, I wondered if I should’ve just stuck to my solo routine: walk to Starbucks on a brisk morning, peruse the horoscopes on the barista counter, enjoy a soy peppermint mocha (extra whip) when my name was called, thoroughly remain content in the city I loved. Chicago.

But here was my best friend. Opposite in many ways: businesswoman, less content outside of familiarity, shorter. Much shorter. Like our home college colors, striking differences in true life teammates provide a beautiful match.

And like true teammates, it was work to keep a little friction from jeopardizing our dynamic duo of greater good. But most of our debates are kept off the field. Even criticism or outside opinions don’t affect our private arguments. 

This particular day was like any other. She kept my pace despite height differences. I was secretly happy because I always love our walks. We debated. We didn’t even agree to disagree. A day like any other.

“Life is about the hand you’re played. And we are all given different hands,” she argued.

“Life is about the hand you’re played. And some of us are given unequal hands, disadvantaged ones,” I replied.

“We are all given various shortcomings, strengths, advantages and issues that are unfair.”

“I know,” I replied. I know life isn’t fair. She does too.

“It all evens out in the end,” she said. I agreed. I know life, unfair, evens out. She does too.

And although at the time I knew this was true, I secretly wished that life balanced out every day for people, to make it a little more even throughout the journey.

But that’s life.

And our debate, like all the others, resulted in two perspectives that paralleled toward the same end argument. Perspectives that grazed one another. Like a tangent line, I suppose.

You know what the actual moral of this story is? Neither of us acknowledged the most important part of the entire philosophical review. We forgot to state the obvious, probably because the obvious came second nature to two who grew up in a like-minded community.

Life is about the hand you’re played. We are all given various hands, and we ought to acknowledge that we play them the best we can……for one another.

We are handed lots of cards. Some might stack up against us, from economic disadvantage to illiteracy to genetic predispositions or disease. Then we spot those that play to our advantage: loving parents, friends and family (one in the same, and we all know it), resource rich communities, other cards we personally consider of advantage.

Some have a mix of the above listed under ‘advantage’ and ‘disadvantage’. But we all play our hands the best we can.

We play it for ourselves, sure. Just because it all evens out in the end doesn’t mean we should go through life without acknowledging one who has beaten the odds, overcome something significant or given it their all when an easier path would’ve sufficed.

If a teammate on or off the field gave his or her all, with full knowledge they’d take hit after hit after hit after hit….then went home and managed unequal cards in health…..then got up to do it again? They ought to be acknowledged for it.

A consistent choice to get back on the field with an unequal stack is commendable, no matter what line of work, personal relationship journey or private road we travel. This we play for ourselves as much as others.

Mostly, though we play our hands for one another. And no matter who’s home field or Chicago neighborhood we walk, we ought not to forget it.

Whether or not life’s hand of cards results in balance is less important than what we do with the cards afforded us.

A small philosophical debate should never overshadow the agreed obvious, either, just as a switch in uniform or jersey doesn’t change a life teammate.

It’s funny how slight friction can grow, almost jeopardizing the bigger picture. We see it in workplace drama, until we are all reminded of how we are bonded in profession, customer, or the greater good we strive for in assisting humanity. We see it when we argue with families and friends: fights that only last until we let our love for one another become visible again….and usually brighter. We even see it in sports teams. Friction can threaten to divide teams, and if players aren’t careful they may slip, point fingers, throw blame and ignite conflict.

But you know what? Even the nastiest periods of fights, discord or disagreements cannot and will not fracture life teammates.

Life teammates, friends and partners, will always find a way back to one another. Because we’re in life’s game together. And we’re playing for one another.

Some teammates on and off the field may even absorb negative energy from a competitive city. Some may receive unequal negative media attention or shoulder the responsibility publicly, time and time again, and they ought to be acknowledged for it. It’s not easy to be in that spotlight, no matter how much a contract pays or what athletic fame is awarded. Quite often, this spotlight is a hazard of the job. But that team dynamic makes everyone stronger. And as part of the hand, it is played with eachother in mind.

And whether or not life “evens out in the end” is also of less importance because the end is only temporary anyway. To go all in, as I’m inclined to do from time to time, I’d acknowledge forever. A forever with life’s teammates is worth anything along the way.

As it turns out, look closely and we see we don’t go through life foregoing the present either. We work to even life out for eachother daily, don’t we? At least it seems that way to me. It’s something I wish for, anyway.

Life teammates, those who’ve I’ve grown up with, those who I’ve yet to meet in person but still know personally, those who have helped me in things I don’t carry expertise in…..those who’ve given precious, personal and priceless gifts of love, entertainment, expression, personal connection to themselves....well I love them for it. But I play for them too, because that’s what we do.

There's no room to concern ourselves on temporary or permanent teammate moves to new places. We’re at home with one another, we cheer eachother on, we don’t miss what the other has done on our behalf.

We play our hands the best we can for one another. And we want to.

It’s what makes life worth living.

We play for one another and that outshines even the fiercest debate. It outshines any tough trials those we love go through.

It outshines even the toughest moments or greatest expectations mounded on a city quarterback.

Life is so great. And playing the best we can for one another, with one another, just makes it so much greater.

Come, let’s go walk, grab a coffee, debate philosophy, love life, and play the best we can. For one another.

Let’s be who we already are: life teammates.

(Forever ones, at that.)