By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
Getting lost in the sauce is a real thing.
Life can hit you like a Mack truck sometimes, and it’s easy to get locked in the present day and lose sight of important things. Hours become days, days become weeks and before you know it, a year has gone by — seemingly in the snap of a finger.
That brings me to my question: Have you spent some quality time with your parents lately? Maybe you’re better about this than me, but I can tell you my answer would probably be “not as much as I’d like.”
This not only has obvious benefits for ourselves but can also be beneficial for our parents. A study titled Loneliness in Older Persons looked at 1,600 adults with an average age of 71. The results indicated that nearly 23% of lonely participants died within six years of the study; only 14% of those reported that they had an adequate level of companionship. Researchers also revealed that 43% of people over the age of 60 felt isolated.
These numbers are staggering, and it makes me want to hug my loved ones extra tight, which is sad to admit. That should always be the feeling, but again, it’s easy to overlook the little things. I hope you can be as honest and transparent about that as I can.
I can speak on a personal level and say I haven’t thought about the importance of being intentional with something like quality time with my parents until a few weeks ago. Little did I know, I’ve done something the last few years that not only brings warmth to my heart but also makes me feel better about that lack of intentionality.
My dad, who also goes by the name Michael — more notably, Mike — covered motorsports for the San Antonio Express-News for my entire childhood, helping me get into sports writing. I went out to NASCAR Cup Series races and things like that growing up, but I grew away from motorsports once I got into some other sports, namely basketball.
Now that I have the ability to write and report, my dad and I make our way out to the Texas Motor Speedway, the Circuit of the Americas or the Texas Motorplex and cover NASCAR or NHRA every year together. We write for his website, RaceDaySA.com, and have a blast doing it.
Getting to share the joy of my aspiring sports journalism career with my dad has been nothing short of a blessing. It didn’t dawn on me until a few weeks ago that he probably feels the exact same way.
My dad — who turned 55 in April — has covered more races than I can count, so I know his days of getting out to the track are probably numbered. I use that as a reminder to cherish every second of those experiences, among others.
Whether you share the same interests as your parents or not, it’s important to take these years seriously. We’re all busy in college, but send your parents this article and let them know you love them. Maybe ask what they want to do sometimes. It can go a long way; trust me.
