OAPs. You start hearing about them when you reach your 50s, but by the time you've started coping with the fact that you really are more than 60-years-old, you definitely understand OAPs -- Old Age Pains.
Right now several of my dear friends are coping with significant medical and health issues, so I don't want to act as if I think stiff joints and aching muscles are in the same league with serious problems. I am well aware they are pretty trivial, and I am writing about these mostly because it kind of startles me that the stereotypes of getting older are turning out to be true.
I used to think it was some silly TV comedy thing to hear a character say they know it's going to rain when their joints start aching. Now I find out that Dylan knew what he was singing about and you really don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - or when it's going to rain. Bad hips and shoulders take care of foul weather predictions pretty well.
This morning I was telling my Dad that I had awakened early because it was cold and rainy during the night, and I couldn't sleep anymore because most of my joints were aching pretty badly. "I guess it just comes from getting old," I told him.
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, then he quietly said, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
When I stopped laughing, I told him I really appreciated that optimistic outlook and it gave me lots to look forward to. He switched the call over to my mother. I think he knew that, even at the age of 60 and complaining about some minor aches and pains, after a dose of hard truth from Dad a guy still needs his mother to sympathise and make him feel a little bit better.
No comments:
Post a Comment