My Body Hurts! I Hate Aging. But I Still Look Good!

I've mentioned in the past that I take a cardio dance class that I love. I've been in it going on two years now. I've been proud of the fact that at my age I can still dance well and I can mostly keep up with the younger ones. Sometimes, I have some issues with my knees. Or I might wake up in the morning with some stiffness in my legs and/or joints. But it doesn't last more that part of a day.  However. it has been happening with more and more frequency however.

This past week, it hit me the very next day and it hit me hard. And its still with me. My left knee has not been right since Wednesday and I'm experiencing pains in both legs and especially in my right butt cheek. You heard me. My right butt cheek. If I sit on it for too long, it starts to hurt. My lower back has been bothering me. I've noticed recently, that sometimes when I lift one leg to put on a pair of pants I have trouble keeping my balance. What?

Until recently I could whip my legs into my pants real quick and with great agility. Where has that gone? I guess the days of bragging about how agile I am even at my age (mid-50s) are gone. I'm no longer one of the go-to guys for picking up the choreography in the chorus of the show real quick. I'm officially one of the older character actors who gets to stand in the background while the younger guys dance around. I. Am. Not. Happy.

I refuse to deteriorate and go to my grave a stiff weakened older gentleman. There must be something I can do. Some medication I can take. A miracle pill that gives me my high kick back. My bell kicks are not what they used to be. I'd like to be able to do those again.

Oi! My neck is killing me too. This has been going one for about a year. I've been in physical therapy for that. You know what this blog is beginning to sound like? I'm one of those older men complaining about all the things on my body that don't work as well as they used to. Oi! The Lumbago! I need some liniment to rub on my back. Hack! Hack! My sinuses! Excuse me. I just need to cough up this phlegm that's caught in my throat.

Do me a favor roll that chair over here so I can sit for a spell and rest my feet. This hike is a little too much for me. Would open this bottle of ibuprofen for me? My arthritis is acting up.

G'night. Its past my bedtime. Yes! I know it's only 9:00. Get off my lawn you noisy kids or next time  your ball comes into my yard, I'm keeping it.

I'm Getting Older and Fighting It Every Step of the Way

I take a cardio dance class on Monday nights. I've been in there for over a year now and I love it. It's called Broadway Bodies and is taught by a former Broadway dancer full of so much energy. The gimmick is that we warm to Broadway show tunes and each week he chooses a song from a Broadway or movie musical and we do choreography to it.

I've been pretty proud of myself for keeping up. I am usually still able to jump, kick etc. The kicks may not be as high as they once were, but they are still there. And I think to myself, not bad for a 50-something. But lately, its been getting a little tougher. Tonight, for instance, I had some trouble. Two weeks ago I was feeling pretty cocky, "Look at me! I'm 54 and you'd never know it. Ha!"  And then I got out of bed the next morning and my left knee was out of whack. It was kind of whacky all day and periodically for a couple days it would suddenly just give out on me.

Tonight, I was just feeling a little out of it. My kicks, not so high. My jumping, ehhh not so much jumping in place happening tonight. Am I getting too old? No! Damn it! No! I refuse to give in. Maybe it was just the time change over the weekend. Yes, that must be it.

I'm still a kid. I am not old. So what if I'm having neck problems. And I'm in physical therapy. The pain is constant. I'm pretty stiff. Have to turn my whole up body around to see side to side. It sucks.

Last month, I went to Scandanavia for 10 days. My feet hurt from all the walking around. And I tired out quite a bit. Had to stop and rest periodically. My mother does that. She's 77 and has bad knees. She can't stay on her feet for long. I'm not 77 and I've never had issues with my knees. I exercise. I lift weights and ride my bike and run on the treadmill and dance to Broadway show tunes. So why am I out of breath when I climb Bunker Hill every morning from the Pershing Square Red Line Station to my office on the top of the hill? Some days, really winded. That never used to be a problem.

I'm still a kid. I play games and I watch cartoons and I ride a bike. I'm not married. I haven't had kids. I'm too young for this!  Let me tell you something, when the time comes and my health starts to go, I am fighting it every step of the way. I will not give up. I am not going down without a fight.

I'll show up at Broadway Bodies in wheelchair if I have to!