the pitfalls of aging

on april 24 i turned 36. yes, yes, still young by all accounts.

still, i have to say my body isn't what it used to be years ago. each year is a slow progression towards the inevitable. i'm getting freaking old.

recently, several incidnets have occurred that have caused me to take a step back to ponder this outcome -- something i thought was years away, the aging, i mean.

i pride myself in having dark brown hair. despite being the oldest in my family, my brother and sister have more gray than they can handle. i joke with them about it and they laugh (my brother more than my sister). they say, well, at least my hairline isn't receding. yes, my hair is thinning up in front.

but at least i rested in the solace that i was gray-free.

some months back, i noticed i had white hairs growing near my jawline. i found them while shaving. no, actually, a friend saw them once when i let my beard grow out. now, tthat my sideburns are long, i see the long, white hairs proudly standing out along with their brown brothers, except that they tend to outshine them when i look at them.

a few weeks ago, i was at my mother-in-law's house. she patted me on the head then said there was a white hair in back of my head. she isolated it, plucked it, and showed it to me. dawn was amazed at the length of it. it was abuot four inches long. we laid it on a black sheet and i frowned because it was clear as day. i figured that in time others would make their way among their brown brothers throughout my head. oh well, my grace period is over.

i started to jog, trying to get in shape. i'd gotten into it and things were going well. then, one bad slip on the stairs here at home and i twisted my ankle. i went jogging the following day without properly stretching. i got caught in the rain and ran home at full speed for three blocks.

the following day my ankle was pounding and the soft areas below both knees (bursa) were hurting like crazy. i could barely walk. i struggled to get places and barely walked to work.

i went to the doctor. he said i didn't do any serious damage to my ankle, buti did mess up some tendons all over the ankle. my knees? he said they creaked like someone who's been hiking in the woods and walks over rough terrain. not something he's used to seeing in someone like me.

he prescribed some pills for the swelling and said to walk on my ankle to keep it from getting stiff. pills worked but the ankle took some time to heal.

now, my jaw hurts. i don't know if it's some kind of infection or what. it feels like a toothache. i will see the doctor again monday.

i don't know. i really don't recall being hurt like this when i was younger. my body was more resilliant. a twist of the ankle 10 or 15 years ago and i would have shaken it off. the swollen bursa? i don't know. i've certainly run fast before (when younger) and i've had no problem. the creaking knews, well, i have the feeling it's from having lived on a ranch for 30 years and going over rough terrain much of the time. the white? oh well.

break out the geratol, metamusil and tonics. i'm on my way.