A Freshly Kicked Testicle

Brian and I laid hardwood flooring in 2 rooms in his recently purchased house the other day. Like most plans we make together, this one got off to it's usual uneven start. The nailer Brian was scehduled to rent did not get returned on time, so he picked it up late. I ran into some odd glitches at the shop sucking an hour or so of precious nailing time from the equation. We finally got rolling around 1 in the afternoon. Only 4 hours late. Those 4 hours came back with a vengeance about 3 in the morning when we were still kneeling, nailing and cussing every cracked tongue when the nailer over amped. If not for Esther, Brian's girlfriend, we both might have self imploded. The 14 hours spent bent over on swollen knees was not the worst of it. Prying my eyes open 3 hours later to face my day was a morning I will not soon forget. My whole body felt like a freshly kicked testicle. I wanted to puke.

Like so many things in my life, Pain is just another facet of my existence that seems to be evolving as I spend more time on this planet. It's not like pain is any more intense. It just seems to settle in, kick back and over stay it's welcome. I can actually remember pain free days at some point in my past. Not anymore. There is always something complaining. My wrist, that knee, that kink in my neck, or that oh so special drop you to your knees sciatica.

I'm not complaining. Okay, yeah, I guess I am. It's more of a observational type whine. A notation on the aging process. A recogntion that getting old sucks. And since there's nothing else going on, I might as well piss and moan. I now have sympathy for old farts and I appreciate what is coming. Each new day brings on the possibility of another body part letting me down or letting me know to not do that anymore. And what's odd is, I never really saw it coming. Insidiously it crept up on me and one day I realized the muscular demands I took for granted were now but memories. Sustaining the same intensity I did when I was young and numb is done now through will power and clenched teeth. No wonder folks hate getting old.