Consider the Alternatives

[getting ready for the dance of the old men in morelia, michoacan, mexico] The days go by faster now. I am not sure when I first noticed it. But it started a while back. Maybe it was in the knees. Or the back. I love playing games sitting on the floor, but getting up started to leave a little tingling. Soon that tingling became a general stiffness. When I would get home from a few weeks of work in Mexico, I used to be able to be in the office the next day. Now I need a day or so laying on the couch to recover. Remember when that recovery took a few minutes, a glass of water, and some shade? Not any more. As a kid, Mom pushed me out the door around 9:00am with the understanding that I would be running, jumping, tackling, and playing until the dinner hour, usually around 6:00. I can't imagine playing a game of tackle football these days, even with pads, which no self respecting kids ever used in my neighborhood. This morning my feet hurt. After I slept all night. What's up with that? An old axiom says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, or something like that. Well guess what, it's true! Some days it just pains me, literally, to get moving. Did it begin in my twenties? I don't think so. Thirties? Maybe a little. But back then I could still work 16 hours a day and be up to a bike ride with the family when I got home. No, it happened after that, I am just not sure when. My wife diagnosed it last night. As I was slowly getting up off the floor after watching a little television, she heard the creaks, snaps, and groans, looked at me and said "David, you're getting old!" You know what? I think she may be right. But I'll take it, because as one of my good friends always says, "Growing old sucks, but consider the alternatives."