You’re not in your twenties anymore
20 Aug
I’m getting older, so my doctors tell me, and they aren’t very nice about it.
I hurt my shoulder in July when I took a backhand swing with my tennis racket a little harder than normal. It’s embarrassing because I was frustrated, and said a few choice words, but no rackets were broken. I just ended up in the doctor’s office a few weeks later, wondering whether I tore my rotator cuff.
“You know,” she said, looking through my chart. “You’re not in your twenties anymore. You can’t just go out and play without warming up. You do stretch, don’t you?”
“Mm,” I answered, thinking maybe I needed anger management more than warm-ups, but point taken. I’m old, or older, and according to my physical therapist, I “have a very weak rotator cuff for my age.”
Thanks.
It seems I’ve hit a new point in my lifespan with doctors. They’ve begun to lecture me now. Whereas before it was in and out, now it’s in and a lifetime of instructions. My foot doctor prescribed orthotics, fixed me with a steely eye, and informed me my days of sandals and high heels were gone — long gone. “These are like glasses. They won’t fix your feet. They just correct them, and you have to wear them every day or the pain will come back,” he warned.
Similarly, every time I see the physical therapist she says, “You have to do these exercises every day for the rest of your life.” And then for good measure another, “The Rest Of Your Life!”
Ok! Ok! I get it already. I’m older. Prone to injury. I need to walk before I jog, and jog before I run, and soon I’ll be taking fiber supplements and glucosamine just to stay alive. It’s hard to believe I’m still young enough to walk without a cane given the way my doctors talk.
So, I’m hauling this old body around, trying to get it in shape for a half marathon, and finding some success. It’s just that I’m not in my twenties anymore.
You’re still just a pup. I’m not in my twenties any more, either, or thirties or forties!
I was jogging with second graders in CLOGS, and then wondered why my knee was bothering me. Try having the doctor tell you your knees look like they should belong to someone in their 80s! Now I’ve been told I have golfer’s elbow and I don’t even play golf. It’s so….unhip!
Ha! Ha! Clogs can be hard on the body. I’m wearing some right now, but they are death on ice. I’m with you on the unhip! Janelle
Cheer up Janelle. I turn 54 next month but I swear I'm playing my best tennis ever this summer.