Feeling My Age

I have always felt young for my age...or at least never really felt as old as I was.  You’re only as old as you think you are, right?

Yeah.

So today at work one of the things I got trained on was how to use this fancy-schmancy copier that sorts and staples or three-hole punches all in one fell swoop.  What a time saver!  As we were waiting for copies to print, I mentioned to my trainer (who is the same age as my daughter, by the way) that I could remember making copies with a mimeograph machine.

She says, “What’s a mimeograph?”

Oh you young whippernsapper, you!  So I had to explain the contraption that had an ink barrel and the copies were created by the operator turning a crank.  You got copies and exercise at the same time back then!

I felt pretty old after that whole conversation.  

My afternoon was spent with health professionals.  I have been dealing with a little--okay, a lot--of back pain this week.  My back hurts every day, but this was agony.  I must have done something at the waterpartk.

So the first stop was actually two days ago when I went to the medical doctor who gave me prescription-strength Advil and a muscle relaxant.  Of course I got the whole heat-and-ice speech too.  She also scheduled me for physical therapy because my core muscles are not as strong as they should be.  Probably because I’m carrying some extra weight around with me everywhere.  Whatever.

So I see the physical therapist today and got some stretching exercises that won’t kill me like the planks the doctor had mentioned would.  Just knees-to-chest for 5 or 10 seconds at a time several times a day.  Lucky for me I work from home or I’d be laid out in the break room doing this with people laughing at me!

After that--and scheduling two follow up appointments--it was off to the chiropractor.  It’s been more than 15 years since I’ve been to a chiropractor, and oh my, have things changed in that time!

I walked in expecting the poke-and-prod “does this hurt” routine.  Nope, now it’s digital computer scans with color readouts that pinpoint exactly where the problem is and if it is muscle, nerve, or bone.  Pretty techy!

And the “adjustments” are no longer the twist-and-crack thing I remember from the way back days.  Now they have this thumper thing that, well, it thumps the joint back into place with a minimum of muss or fuss.  I was sort of skeptical when he showed me this thumper thing because it’s no bigger than a hand mixer, but boy oh boy, do I feel a lot better!

I drove home and for the first time in many, many years, I didn’t moan and groan after getting out of the truck.  Usually it takes me a second or two to get straightened up and moving.  Nope, hopped right out and stood up straight.  

Amazing!

There are also follow up appointments for the chiropractor.  But the physical therapist and the chiropractor both told me that maintenance (i.e., prevention) is the golden ticket here.  Stay ahead of the problem...don’t chase it.  

So apparently I actually am as old as my drivers license says I am, even when I sometimes feel quite a bit younger than that.  

Thank you, God, for giving us competent and helpful health professionals to keep us in good shape!