I blew my knee out the other day. Just completely dropped to the floor, couldn’t move – didn’t cry either but there may have been a curse word or two. What was I doing you might ask? While I’d love to say I was running a 5k charity run raising money for some noble cause, or climbing a rock wall in preparation for an excursion to the Pacific Northwest – I can’t. That’s because I was doing yoga. Yup, YOGA! Who blows out a knee doing the tree pose? Me, that’s who! This time of being 50+ is meant to be our golden age, or our “golden years.” We’re a “silver tsunami” and a “force to be reckoned with” according to all the articles I read. In fact, this mature adult thing is supposed to be the time of our lives and yet here I am, with a knee injury requiring crutches and rehab simply for doing a bit of flow yoga in the bedroom one morning. Ha – The time of our lives indeed!

There’s a pretty good chance by the time you fall into the survey category that has you scrolling for your date of birth like you spin a Vegas roulette wheel, you’ll have some aches and pains. Even if you’ve led a virtuous life, ate all your fruits and veggies and only ever consumed filtered water – first of all what a waste and secondly – the fact remains you’re still 50+ and that means all your bones and joints have been working hard for 50+ years. That’s a long time to expect anything to work hassle free, let alone something as complex as the human body. Getting older doesn’t have to suck but there’s a reason we have children when we’re young – so that chasing after them at the park doesn’t put us into cardiac arrest!

Men you might want to tune out for this next part but can we also talk about aging and menopause? The word itself is an example of what to expect when you hit “a certain age.” If you’re anything like me you want to hit the “pause” button on the men in your life. Like, I ask you dear reader, is it fair to say to my husband, “Can we just sleep in separate bedrooms for the next ten years until all this menopause stuff goes away? I love you but I don’t really want to be near you right now, I certainly can’t stand listening to your snoring a minute longer without putting a pillow over your face and I’m too damn hot to sleep beside ANYONE! In fact, if you need me I’ll be down in the basement, with the AC set to “meat locker” and rocking my birthday suit with a fan blowing directly down upon my head.” Am I right ladies? As RuPaul might say, “Can I get an Amen up in here?” Yes – c’mon ladies, I know all my fellow female fifty plus friends hear me on this one. Even better is the fact that while we are “aging gracefully” and taking care of our own more “senior” senior parents, some of us might also still be raising our kids while all of this is going on. Nothing beats going through an angry hot flash while “calmly” talking with your equally hormonal (for entirely different reasons) teenage daughter!

Where was I? Oh yes, aches and pains and poorly behaved kneecaps. Is it just me or does it all seem so very unfair that when we finally have both enough money AND enough time to start enjoying life, our bodies remind us that while we might be young in mind and spirit, when it comes to the body – not so much. I’m still pretty flexible and knee injury notwithstanding I can still touch my toes and downward dog with the best of them yet I still have trouble getting out of a beach chair ‘cause it’s too low to the ground. If I have been sitting in the same position for too long – say, for example, 4 or 5 whole minutes – there will be groans, heaves and some huffing as I try to uncross my legs and stand up. As for a recent episode getting out of my kayak one day, my husband simply had this to say between laughing WAY too hard, “Well that was graceful.” I’m pretty sure he was being sarcastic. I’m also pretty certain the bruises will heal from where I beat him with the paddle but I can’t be sure. 

I guess what I’m really trying to say is sure growing old is a privilege and sadly, one that’s denied far too many of us. But growing older doesn’t come without some growing pains too. I take solace in the fact that if indeed we have more time in our retirement to enjoy the little things in life, it’s a good thing – because we need that extra time to get up and get around! So cheers to enjoying the time of our lives because when you get right down to it, time is the most precious thing we have. Time to travel, to be spent in the company of grandchildren and time to relax, pick up a new hobby or spend time with family and friends – perhaps even friends you’ve made the Amintro way.