A decade ago in this space, I wrote about my impending 40th birthday. I went back and read that recently.
In that column, I mentioned that age was only in your mind and that, while I couldn’t physically do everything I had a decade earlier, my body felt pretty good for 40.
That was the wrong thing to write.
It’s been a bit of a downhill trek physically since then, as if I jinxed myself. I dealt with some colitis for a time, and it’ll flare up every now and then. I did gain an appreciation of Greek yogurt out of that since I’m supposed to eat more probiotics. I later found out the colitis likely developed due to me having to go on medication for my high cholesterol. Sigh.
Right before Covid hit, I developed plantar fasciitis. I wore a boot for a long time and was even supposed to wear it at night, which led to very little sleep. I finally had a cortisone shot, which worked really well! And then it came back. More rehab and another cortisone shot made things better. And then it came back, though this time I noticed the signs immediately and started scaling back what I was doing. I’m now at a point where I can do most of what I want physically, except for umpiring, and I have kept it under control. Stretch and ice and compress!
My right knee started acting up shortly after Anton was born. I wore a knee brace for many years when I’d exercise. About five years ago, I’d forgotten the brace once when I was officiating, and I had no pain. Great! I didn’t have to wear that brace again for a long time… until last year. Something tweaked in there while running down a basketball court. Oh, goody.
And then there are the nerve issues that developed last year. Back in May, I wrote a column about my frustrations with Mayo in dealing with the neck and back pain I had. A positive update from that is that I’m (mostly) pain-free these days. There is something going funky in my C7 and C8 vertebrae which caused pain in my neck, back, and shooting down my left arm (a scary thing when you have a history of heart attacks in your family). Thanks to chiropractic care, though, things have aligned to a point where a bit of pain shows up in my left elbow each morning, but, knock on wood, that’s it.
This is part of aging, I suppose. I still go along with what I wrote ten years ago, that the idea of “getting old” is largely in one’s mind. I don’t like not being able to do as much as I used to. I’m not fond of the sounds my body makes as I get up from my bed or a chair at times. Getting up every single night to use the bathroom is not a great thing since I then have a hard time falling back asleep. And forget sleeping in. Even when I have nowhere to be, to sleep past 7:00 is almost unheard of.
I know my comic books celebrate these big numbers with a larger issue and a big story. Every issue #25 or #50 or #75 or #100 is extra-sized and overpriced. And I get it that we do that with birthdays. Just go check out the birthday card section at the store. For every decade, starting at 40, there is a special selection of cards. I’m sure I’ll see some in my mailbox.
I share the exact same birthday with one of my brothers-in-law and one of Michelle’s first cousins. Yep, we’re all turning 50 this year! By the time you’ve read this, I’ll have seen my brother-in-law since we’re doing a big family picture. Michelle’s cousin is having some sort of shindig later on, but we already had plans.
I’m very much okay with nothing big. Since my whole family is together, we’re going out to eat, but we’re also celebrating my nephew’s 5th birthday, and that should be a much bigger deal! My hope is that, since my birthday falls on the first day of school (yippee), my co-workers will be too distracted to trash my room like they did ten years back.
All I really want is to go out and get something nice to eat. Since there’s a home volleyball game on my birthday, I’ll suggest we do that the next evening. Maybe I can get a free dessert out of it. That’s gift enough.
And just as I was thinking about how to compose this column, my first notice from AARP arrived in the mail. Wait, that’s for old people, isn’t it? I asked my mother-in-law if it was worth signing up. She said there are a few discounts, but mostly insurance offers. There’s a monthly magazine, so I might sign up just to have something else to read. Because it doesn’t feel like I’m old enough for this yet, does it?
My hair is more white than it used to be, and it doesn’t grow nearly as quickly. But that’s been happening for some time. If I’m still writing here in ten years, I’ll probably talk about how much hair I’ve lost! But I still won’t be old at 60, will I? What’s that you said? My hearing isn’t what it used to be.
Word of the Week: This week’s word is narrischkeit, which means foolishness or nonsense, as in, “He hoped, in vain, to avoid any narrischkeit on the milestone birthday.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!