On Getting Older

Every once in a while, the juxtaposition of events in your life seems so intentional that it begs reflection. Such a confluence happened to me recently, and I wanted to record it here so that I didn't forget it.

If you know me, you know that I've recently celebrated a milestone birthday. In general, I'm not too hung up about getting older. I do my best to take care of myself, I work out, I practice good skin care, etc. I have no illusions that I won't age. And I don't beat myself up for aging. I still like me, my family and friends still like me, I do a good job of maintaining my ability to keep doing the things I love to do (so far), and merrily we roll along. 

Each Valentine's Day, I purchase some lovely new lingerie. It's always a huge hit with hubs, and I love getting pretty new things! This year, a mail-order lingerie company was marketing to me relentlessly on social media. So I finally caved and bought some new pieces from them that I was looking forward to receiving. 

Though shipping was initially delayed, I finally saw from my delivery tracking order that the items should have arrived. I looked in the mailbox. Nope. I check the porch. Nada. I gave it a few more days, but still, the order never showed up. After following up with both the shipping company and the company I ordered from, we couldn't find out where the items had gone astray. And it was too late to re-order and have the items arrive in time for Valentine's Day. So, I heaved a sigh and got a refund. 

At around the same time (not too long after this milestone birthday), I began noticing some slight twinging in my left heel as I was running on the treadmill at the gym. I'd tried resting it a bit, walking instead of running, stretches, massage, etc. But the twinge wouldn't go away. It didn't hurt exactly, but I worried that continuing to run would lead to worse problems. 

I got a referral from one of my triathlete friends (who has been patching himself together for at least a decade so he can keep competing) and booked an appointment at Mississippi Sports Medicine to have it checked. It should come as no surprise to you that I'd never been to Mississippi Sports Medicine before.  (We were all shocked, frankly, when I showed up. Ha.) So I arrived early for my appointment, filled out paperwork, got an X-ray, etc. 

When the doctor came to see me in the exam room, he expertly found the parts of my foot that were giving me trouble, walked me through my X-ray, and told me that I had Achilles tendonitis. I asked him what causes Achilles tendonitis. After we discussed that I hadn't changed my regular physical activity or otherwise injured the foot, he began with "As time passes . . . "

"You mean, as I get old?" I said.

"Well, we really don't like to use that type of framing here," he answered. 

I burst out laughing. 

"So what I'm hearing you say is that I'm getting old, and parts of me are going to start wearing out," I managed to choke out through the giggles. 

He consulted my chart and looked me dead in the eye. 

"We are the same age, ma'am," he replied.

Another round of guffawing. Then, he pointed to a couple of small wounds on his face that I hadn't really noticed before.

"Do you see these?" he asked. "I rode my bike and took a spill. I'm right there with you!"

After further chuckles, he shook my hand to officially welcome me to aging. As for the tendonitis, he prescribed an anti-inflammatory and some specific stretches.

And then, just in time for Valentine's Day, he gave me a SLEEPING BOOT. The boot keeps your foot flexed throughout the night so that the Achilles tendon doesn't shorten or get stiff and painful while you sleep. 

So, just to recap - My sexy Valentine's lingerie was lost to the void somewhere, but now, I had a hot new sleeping boot that was sure to keep things exciting in the bedroom. 

When I told hubs about it, I could barely get the words out between peals of laughter. I assured him it would be my "come hither" boot, and that I'd use it as a signal to let him know that I was ready for love! I promised him I'd Bedazzle it, or drape it with lace. I let him know that this boot was about to change our sex life forever! We must have laughed for a solid 15 minutes about it. 

And you know the really annoying part? That damn boot WORKS. I've worn it for the past several nights, and the twinge in my foot is gone. I'm running more at the gym, and I smoked a barre class today. (Awfully inconvenient when the medical advice that you didn't even like is so effective, isn't it?)

I was still able to get some lingerie from a local shop for Valentine's Day this year, but the universe had already made its point. My Golden Girl years are on the horizon! No worries - cheesecake on the lanai sounds like a perfect evening to me!