Aches and Pains

I've been having a peculiar problem with my left arm, around the elbow. It's like a muscle ache, but it seems deeper than that -- a tendon, maybe, or some joint or connective tissue. I think I must have strained something while lifting weights. I've been trying to go easier on that arm at the gym, but after more than a week it still feels stiff and painful, especially when I first wake up in the mornings.

My left shoulder is also a little tricky. I can't scratch my own back anymore, which I used to be able to do with ease. I can feel my rotator cuff creaking and protesting when I reach in certain directions.

And then there's my right hand, which seems to have developed a tendency to go numb fairly easily. I notice it in bed and even when I'm just sitting around. What's up with that?!

I don't think any of these are really serious problems. If they persisted or got more severe I might have them checked out, but let's face it -- I'm in my mid-40s!

Aging is so interesting -- when you're younger, you hear older people saying things about their aches and pains, or how their hearing is going, or their eyesight isn't what it used to be. (Not to mention their memories.) But you never really know what they mean until you start aging yourself. Then you find yourself thinking, "Ah! So THIS is what it's like!"

I don't mind it, really. It's just what happens to all of us. C'est la vie.

(Photo: Graffiti by Jhoke, South Amboy, N.J.)