When did you realize that you were not a "spring chicken" anymore? My revelation was last weekend. I was showing my kids that I could cross the playground monkeybars. Grabbing the first bar and putting my weight on my right arm shot excrutiating pain out of my fairly recently operated right shoulder. I grabbed out of pure reaction for the next bar and released all my weight onto my left hand and ripped a callous off of the base of my ring finger. I gracefully plopped to the ground, thankfully landing on my feet, told the kids to keep playing, and sat my humbled ass on a park bench. Getting older sucks.
When my back and knees hurt even when I'm not doing anything. I've injured every major joint in my body along with several smaller ones and a few multiple times. I used to heal from those but now I'm pretty much in a state of permanent injury with at least one or more parts of my body hurting at any time. It takes me about 15 minutes just to tape up before I work out. Yep getting old sucks and the worst part is I'm not even that old yet.
There are many times that I will get out of bed in the middle of the night for a drink of water, and my back is hurting so bad I have trouble standing up straight. It's not like I have some piece of junk mattress either, it's actually a really nice one. And I'm only 25!!
Really, I haven't seen anything yet... except I wish I could have just a little facelift. Occasionally I look tired and older, and have perpetual circles under my eyes. In terms of working out, energy, etc., I don't think I notice a difference yet. (and I'm 30, but all things considered, have held up well... helps to not actually realize you're that old ) I have found a few things that looked like potential gray hairs. I remove them. They usually come with teaching stress. Basically, for all I know, I still am a spring chicken. Because I insist. So there.
That's pretty funny...even for a professional I learned what an old fart I was when the girl who always cuts my hair started running the clippers along the edge of my ears when she was cleaning up my neckline.
Don't get me started on my white hairs...I also noticed that I have more pairs of slacks than jeans...
For me, it happened on October 12th, 1997 at the ripe old age of 27. We had watched Barkley's first game in a Rox uniform at the Superdome in New Orleans (that is the Superdome, isn't it?) the night before and partied hard on Bourbon Street afterwards. The next day, we were driving home and stopped in Beaumont for a bio-break. When I stepped out of the car, my right knee (the one that got the worst of my football and volleyball years) didn't even pretend to hold. I laid there on the pavement without much physical pain, but writhing with the mental anguish from experiencing the first time my body didn't cooperate with my mind.
While my user name isn't as appropriate as it used to be I still get tired alot quicker than I used too. I also realized that being in good shape for your age has nothing to do with being in game shape. I can run 3-6 miles at a 9-8 min pace pretty easy, but I made the mistake of running sprints with my daughters freshman softball team the other day and I thought that I was gonna die. Being old sucks!
Age wise, I'm 34, 35 in November, but when asked, I want to blurt out 32...I don't know why...It just feels right...I guess I'm in denial...
When I found out that i couldn't just eat whatever I wanted anymore. Otherwise, I have digestive/intestinal problems. When it takes nothing to pull muscles in my back. And I'm not quite 40 yet.
I still remember the first time someone referred to me as a "lady". It was in a public restroom, where a woman told her daughter to move and "let the lady by". I'm not a lady, I remember thinking - I'm only 15! Fair enough... but I've had the same thought every time since then. "I'm not a lady yet... I'm just a girl! Don't let the number of years I've been around fool you." (oh, and one more confession... when I was about 27, I started having to carry Rolaids around. They are a teacher's best friend.)
