As Good as I Once Was
You know people are guilty of many things and I can cop to a number of them. See, it takes some kind of talent to say that you are guilty without mentioning what you are guilty of. In my case and in many others we are guilty of complaining about how old we are.
I don’t really think that any of us really feel that old. We don’t really think about ourselves as being that old yet we find that our bodies don’t respond and or react the way that they used to and it is disconcerting. I think that one of the key elements here is that we are not so far removed from whatever time it was in which they did as we wish that we cannot remember how it used to be. How is that for convoluted.
At a recent doctor’s appointment I was told that I have severe arthritis in both knees and he recommended that I give up playing basketball. After I told him that he might as well ask me to give up sex, eating, music, reading, time with my children and blogging (why stop with one part of my life that I love, take it all) I stood up and demonstrated a series of deep knee bends.
That cracking noise that you heard was my knees, but they really didn’t hurt. For that matter they almost never hurt unless I get into one of those squatting positions that little children assume. You know the one where their butt is a quarter inch off of the floor. They usually do this just before they grab some dangerous object to shove into the R&D factory known as their mouths.
It was only yesterday that I could still grab the rim. It was just last week that I could play five days in a row without feeling winded and more importantly the next day my legs felt great, no aches or pains and no pinched nerve in my neck.
I don’t know about you but I keep expecting some sort of informercial for the fountain of youth pills to come down across the top of my blog, or maybe not.
Out on the court I run with the young bucks. I cannot do everything I used to. Master Yoda says “no can’t” and I listen to him, truly I do. I really do believe that I can still do it all and do it the way that I used to. But the problem is that I cannot do it with the same frequency or consistency and in some cases I just can’t do it like I used to.
I lost a footrace to a kid who never should have beaten me. I know that I am faster but at just short of 37 I can’t bring it up immediately. That is, I can’t just walk onto the court and have my legs respond. I need a few minutes to warm up the engine and then they respond as they are meant to.
It is a little disconcerting. When did I turn into the guy who has to stretch. Who voted for this program. How did I miss the election, I don’t get it.
So I have decided to try and test myself. My goal is to see if I can turn back the clock a little. My desire is to adopt a healthier diet and to really bear down on transforming myself into an updated version of the 1989 model of Jack.
Part of that means that I am going to try and make an effort not to say things like “I am getting older or I can’t believe how old I feel.” Yes, I am going to use the Force. Now what did I do with my light saber.
Jack's Shack January 18, 2006 at 6:22 am
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks.
Jameel,
I just adjusted my diet. Sometimes it is painful to admit that age is changing you.
Richmond,
Duct tape. 🙂
MP,
Welcome to the club.
DR,
Life has its moments, doesn’t it.
dorothy rothschild January 18, 2006 at 3:22 am
Now that I feel like I’m finally old enough to have the discipline to do something like train for a marathon (I would desperately love to do this), the knees won’t cooperate. I feel yer pain, Jack. Crackle sounds and all.
Melliferous Pants January 17, 2006 at 7:23 pm
My knees make that same, crackling sound.
Richmond January 17, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Interesting how the parameters change as we all head toward 40. Huh? 😉
Good luck with your program — let us know how it goes using the force…
I’d love to be in the shape I was in ’89. (Pretty sure that duct tape would be involved at this point, though.) lol
Jameel January 17, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Jack; Man, do I hear you. As an unageable generation-Xer, I find it distressing that I can’t do what I used it.
So, the first thing I did was diet. In my 20s I used to be able to eat an entire pizza pie with no effect on my metabolism. Eventually it caught up with me.
Luckily, I caught it in time…and started dieting. I’ll still eat pizza, but in moderation. I eat alot less than I used…but the weight loss is great. I feel much better and it makes sports and excersize much more fun.
I bought a mountain bike. Granted I don’t use it nearly as often as I should (I wish I could bike at night), so I also play hockey.
I even raced my almost 13 year old son last week, and I won. Barely.
Rebecca January 17, 2006 at 11:58 am
Good for you..just don’t push yourself too hard!!
I remember a time that if someone told me I couldn’t play basketball I would look at them like they had two heads. Sprained ankles and broken fingers and wrists never stopped me from playing a game why should anyone else? When I was in Israel for the year after highschool there was just no where to play. When I came home I was so afraid to touch a basketball that I would be so bad and so rusty that it’s been 11 years since I have. So, good for you!! Don’t give up!