Live. Laugh. Love.

It sure is cliche.
But it feels deeply honest.

I say it again, a full pause behind each.
LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE.

Isn’t that what life is all about?

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I’ve been reflecting on relationships, and have decided that that is what all of life should be: relating to another, caring for one another, striving to understand and know one another.

In light of this, I’m going through the delightfully long list of my uplifting and meaningful relationships. People who have invested in me and shared pieces of themselves that make me more whole, more alive. I want to tell you about a friend who fits that description fully.

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We met in PT school – inherently that means that we’re both nerds. She grew up in Florida, and I considered her a city kid; but she wasn’t a stuck-up city kid. I thought she was pretty cool.

She took me to a local bakery on her birthday. She helped me pick out a couple pastries to try; we split them. That strawberry dessert was remarkable; so is Adrienne.

I don’t remember when she got the nickname “Ades” – that was what we called her when we were being serious. Her other nickname born during the very first semester of our 3 years of PT school. She’d never be able to live it down.

It was our second practical exam in Anatomy class. We filed into the room with ashen faces, given only a clipboard and a sheet of paper with thirty numbered blanks. We cycled through the room station by station, given one minute to answer what each identified structure was.

On this exam, station 17 was a small anatomical model, rather than a cadaveric specimen. There was a small marker on the model pointing to a specific ligament, and we were expected to write down the name of the ligament. We cycled through that 30 minute exam, then exited into the hallway and did what all testing students do: Cluster and immediately start comparing answers.

“What did you guys put for the baby knee?”

We looked at Ades, dumbfounded. “What do you mean, ‘baby knee’? There was no baby knee.”

“No, the tiny knee model in the middle of the room! It had a ligament that was labeled!”

“…Adrienne. That was an elbow.”

I’ve nary been able to look at the annular ligament of the elbow since that day without giggling and remembering my friend, Baby Knee.

Ades suffered all of that ribbing with great grace. That’s just been her way. Exceptionally kind, willing to ask and clarify when she doesn’t know (that’s brave), advocating for those she cares for: both friends and patients.

When I chose to sit for my orthopedic clinical specialist exam 5 years after graduation, Adrienne had already completed her OCS. I reached out to her for advice on her study techniques, and she sent me all of her study materials: PDFs of papers, textbooks, links to practice exams, videos. She was unrestrained in her generosity. She wanted me to succeed; because of her, I did. Sharing the OCS designation with Ades has been a real privilege.

Anytime I’ve dropped a line out of the blue, she’s graciously responded with warmth and invitation. She went out of her way to catch lunch with me when I stopped by Orlando a few years ago, and we caught up just like we’d never stepped away from PT school. A phone call last week made hours disappear, without shying away from discussing the important things – faith, family, friendship, future.

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Adrienne is a gift of a human being to know. I’m so grateful for her influence and acceptance. Because of Ades, I’ve learned more radical kindness, generosity, and acceptance of others. These are all values that I aspire to and wish to grow in. So I’m grateful for Adrienne and the gift of paradigm that she has given in this growing process:

• Don’t put off living life until later. Live unabashedly, fully, riskily, full of dreams. Travel the world. Broaden your expectations.
• Don’t put off experiencing joy until later. Don’t limit your joy to societal constraints. Let your joy well up in a boisterous belly laugh that lifts the spirit of the whole room.
• Don’t put off loving until later. Love your friends, love your family, love yourself. Love vulnerably and without restraint. Love without recognition of the risk being hurt. Love without expectation of anything in return.

Live. Laugh. Love.

Right now. Without delay.

That’s how my friend Baby Knee does it, and I want to follow suit.