Lately I’ve been writing a little bit, here and there, on the subject of aging. It’s a subject that’s often on my mind, as I’m a little older than the norm for a father of a six year old, and trying to keep up with him and his brothers can be a bit of a challenge at times.
Take Saturday, for instance.
It was a cold, crisp winter day; the sun was shining and it was a few degrees below freezing. A perfect day, in other words, to go skating on the pond.
The trouble is, the wind was blowing. Hard. And the wind, she was biting. Hard.
When you’re out on the pond, skating with the boys, you don’t really notice the cold and the wind. I don’t anyway. But when you get in the car for the drive home, it sure made itself know. HOO BOY, did my poor old knee joints ache.
Funny thing is, I would never consider playing hockey without my knee braces, but I did go skating without them. Now a little skate on the pond with the kids is nowhere near the stress of a hockey game, so I’m left with the conclusion that it wasn’t just the activity that was the problem, it was the cold.
And as the years go by, that’s one of the biggest troubles I have; my misspent youth is coming back to haunt my joints. Arthritis is a harsh taskmistress, and she really likes the cold.
On the bright side, with age comes experience, and I’ve learned how to live, exercise, and thrive with arthritis. Guess I just have to add,
Wear your frickin’ knee braces
To the survival guide.
