As I cleared clutter of my home office this past weekend, I wondered whether part of adulthood is acquiring the stuff you wished for as a kid.
One of the boxes had hockey magazines and equipment catalogues and newspaper clippings that I collected when I was younger. While my family wasn't in a position to enroll me in hockey, I could at least imagine playing for my hometown team with my favorite players - while wearing the coolest gear, of course. Maybe reviewing player statistics and equipment specs over and over ended up being practice for skills I'd need in medical school.
Hockey has become my easy talking point during conversations in and out of medicine, and it gives me a jumping point to ask others what they like to collect. Unsurprisingly, their interest often ties back to something from their childhood, and having a sense of their past gives me some context about who they are now.
Comments