Age Old Pain

It has recently dawned on me that I’m getting old or at least getting older.

As if the aching back, popping knees and difficulty standing up weren’t the obvious sign then social media has certainly been doing its part. When doomscrolling through an app which focuses on short-form video, I’ll see trends like “Bet You Can’t Name These 5 Classic Songs.”

Fully prepared to show off my knowledge of classic bands such as Queen, Kiss or Fleetwood Mac I am instead greeted with bands from my youth like No Doubt, The Young Radicals or Third Eye Blind. Even worse is when I come across videos which seek to remind me that a song from some of my favorite bands as a teenager such as Papa Roach or Blink 182 had come out 20 years ago.

I’ve also noticed how much I’ve aged in just the six years since I’ve been with the Saratoga Sun. Trying to get those really good “from the floor” action shots during volleyball matches and basketball games seemed easier back then. Now, when I crouch down and hear the crackle and pop of my knees I briefly imagine falling over and yelling out that popular one liner from Steve Urkel in “Family Matters.”

Also, I never thought I’d consider investing in stadium chairs. While the hard plastic of bleachers aren’t the most comfortable, I’d always been able to tolerate them. The last year, or so, sitting on bleachers seems like a good way to get my joints to lock up on me.

All that being said, I’m not that old. Heck, I’m not even 40 yet!

Next month, I turn 38 years old and next year will mark 20 years since I graduated high school. Two decades ago, I could go to school all day, work in the evening and then stay up late playing video … I mean studying. Midnight was an easy goal to reach, now it almost seems like a punishment.

Part of me wonders if it has to do with the “once in a lifetime” and world altering events my generation has lived through.

We started with the Y2K scare in grade school, experienced September 11 in middle school and high school, then swine flu and bird flu, the 2008 economic collapse, Ebola and so on. That much stress can certainly take it out of a young body. So perhaps there's a good reason why those in our 30s and 40s move like we’re 10 or 20 years older. Although, I know people older than me who move a lot better than me.

It is said that you’re only as old as you feel, and there are certainly days I feel older than 38. Perhaps, with the St. John’s Wort and B12 I’ve started taking on a regular basis, I’ll add some other supplements and see if those help. In the meantime, if you happen to hear a loud pop or crack in my vicinity just know that it’s my knees telling me how old they feel.