Each time my body holds a big protest against its labor, I feel old. It started when I was in grade school and had back pains. That lasted a month, maybe. Then after my car accident when I was 22, I felt old for around half a year. Fast forward to when I was around 40, the osteopenia was settling into my spine and hip (undiagnosed at that time), I was still smoking and shorter of breath than when I was a kid, was out of shape. That lasted around a year. I didn't quit smoking til a few years later, when I had my knee operated on. "Old" was just a few weeks, then. Around 5 years later I had the other knee scraped and drilled. Old lasted a couple of weeks.
The pain in my body has gotten worse but it's been gradual and the spots are isolated, and I'm mentally and emotionally more mature now and better able to deal with it. So other than "episodes," I actually feel younger than I have in almost 2 decades. I'll be 58 this coming Saturday.
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