An Old Age Holiday Message

I woke this morning around 6:00 and went to my window to check out how much snow had fallen over night. As I reached into the blinds to get a little separation between the slats I noticed that the two smaller fingers on my left hand were having a hard time moving. It’s as if they’re sprained or something. Then a thought occurred to me. I’ll be 48 in a month, not getting any younger. Odds are this is arthritis.

Wow, if correct, that kind of sucks. Well, not really. I think the most exercise I get besides work is using my fingers to open the shade that made me realize my fingers hurt in the first place. I’ve had bad knees for ages, had surgery on one and that hurts every once in awhile. This, on the other hand, is different. I remember my grandmother complaining about arthritis when I was a kid and I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. I’d ask her about it and she always just said, “This stuff happens when you get old”.

I don’t know if I’ve ever cared about getting old before. I guess I always just thought that I’d be this social retard that I am forever. It’s always worked in the past to help me feel like I wasn’t getting any older. It’s just recently that I’m learning that the physical side of me really doesn’t care what the mental side’s plans are.

I took an Aleve and my fingers loosened up after a short while. Better living through chemistry and all. I can see how much easier it will be for me if this really was a case of arthritis, than it was for those generations before me. One simple tablet and I’m good to go whereas my grandparents would suffer daily. Sounds cold, but thems the breaks. I’m sure our kids are going to have it a lot easier too.

In reality, odds are great that this was simply a case of my bending my fingers in an odd way while sleeping but if that was the case, and I realized it, then I’d have had nothing to write about. And isn’t that my sole purpose in being here? ☺

Anyway, it’s Christmas week and those long time readers know how low I get during this time of year. I know I can become quite the grinch. I don’t mean it but I’m one of those folks that consistently bog my head down with low self-esteem feelings, especially this time of year. I will, however, admit to having a number of things that I’m happy about this year.

First and foremost, I became a grandfather this year. Jena was born in August and, though I still haven’t been able to get out to California to see her, I get regular updates on her growth and she’s doing fine. I’m happy that my kids are all healthy. Yes, they’ve each had their challenges throughout the year but they’re doing fine. My parents, brothers and sister are all plugging along and that’s a good thing too.

Lastly, I need to say how nice it’s been getting in touch again with all my new/old friends from high school via Facebook. I had no idea how much I missed you all and can never express my gratitude to you all for accepting me “back” into the fold. You will never understand how much this rediscovering has meant to me and I will forever be thankful to all of you.

So, happy holidays everybody. Be nice to each other and take care of yourselves.