Proud Mary keeps on burnin'
Rollin' rollin' rollin' on the river
Rollin' rollin' rollin' on the river
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Proud Mary
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| "these old bones" image courtesy Google search |
All things considered, these old bones have done me well.
I can't touch my toes to save my life. I can barely lift the bar over my head let alone adding dumbbells to the mix. I'm lousy at hockey. I'm too short for basketball. I swim like a brick. I was a pretty good catcher in my day and sailboarding and racketball were my strengths, but I fail at just about every other sport...
...except running
I remember high school football... okay, let's forget high school football... I was an abject failure.... but high school ping pong, that's another story. I used to cut classes to climb the ping pong hall of fame ladder. I was that good ...in the mind of a grade nine, skinny geek, I was awesome.
Sadly, I have come to the realization that I am in a perpetual state of recovery... recovery from knee aches, shoulder aches, toe aches, calf aches, arse aches, and aches I haven't yet discovered. The young have injuries too ... boo hoo (yes that's sarcasm with a sprig of envy)... and recover about three minutes later with maximum whining. Curse the young ones!
We experienced folks take more time to recover, to heal, to mend. We like our injuries to simmer on a low boil for at least two or three weeks. We come to depend on our beloved massage saviours (thank you Alerry) and equally revered physiotherapists (hi ya Stephanie) We are never fully healed, and we're okay with that cuz these old bones sustain us and they're all we have. There's always another pain just around the corner to replace the one from which we've recovered.
It's as good as it's going to get, and we're okay with that because we have come to love our old bones with all their scars and blemishes.
Aging gracefully is a full time job. If I were a car, my owner would be looking for a new one with less mileage, one with fewer breakdowns, and easier on gas. If I were a toaster my owner would just pitch me and replace me with a sexier, skinnier, shinier model.
We are among the fortunate ones for these old bones keep us rolling down the river.
Thank you bones. I have a few more excursions planned so please hang in there for another ten years. I haven't yet run a 100 miler, but it's on the bucket list. And if you fail me I'll understand and I'll be thankful for the miles you've sustained me.
I know I'm on borrowed time. Thank you bones.
It's a good day to be alive.
Mike
