Jan. 12, 2024

There’s a difference between getting old and growing old. Growing old involves maturity, grace, and wisdom. Getting old — to me anyway — means feeling like a tired, sore, grumpy bastard.

All day today, I’ve felt like I’m getting old.

I’ve got this thing going on in my right shoulder. It started last night for no good damn reason and was nice enough to stick around all day today. Some kind of muscle thing that makes it hard to do even little things without feeling a twinge of pain.

It’s also been a rough day for my sciatica. That’s on my right side, too. Angry, hot pain, shooting from just above my hip right down to my big toe. It made standing in front of a roomful of 3rd graders a lot of fun today.

Speaking of those adorable little scamps, one of my students asked me today how long dogs had been around, and did I remember when they were new. Last month, a few days before my 49th birthday, another kiddo wondered if I remembered when the world was still black and white.

It shouldn’t require a stretch of your imagination to understand why this song from John Hiatt’s 2018 Eclipse Sessions album is on my mind. Eclipse Sessions is one of Hiatt’s masterpiece albums, along with Stolen Moments, Walk On, and Crossing Muddy Waters.

The legendary singer/songwriter is my all-time favorite, and his albums have been my growing up soundtrack since I discovered him at age 19. Through his songs, Hiatt has taught me a lot about love, family, parenting, and what it means to learn from the struggles we endure.

Now he’s teaching me what it means to grow old.

I figure pretty soon I’ll head to bed with a heating pad on my shoulder, some Bio Freeze slathered on my lower back, and a few ibuprofen. But it’s also Friday night, so maybe I’ll get wild and take two vitamin C tablets instead of just one.

Hopefully I’ll wake up tomorrow, rested, relaxed, and ready to get back to growing old.

I’m over the hill, under the bridge
Still a few peaks and valleys, I ain’t seen