feeling my age

 My mother-in-law is likely failing; she's not eating, not drinking much, refusing medication. She's in the hospital as we speak, and hospice-at-home services are being discussed.

In other news, I had a 67th birthday recently. For some reason, aging seems to have been more a factor in this one, partly because of the mother-in-law, and partly for other reasons. Years ago, I named my back pain "Jacob", after the biblical story in which Jacob wrestled with an angel; the angel "touched the socket of Jacob's hip", and thereafter "he was limping because of his hip". I can't say I was touched by an angel, but the pain does seem to center on one or the other of my hips (the side varies), and the intensity varies through the day: usually worst in the morning, and passing as I move around during the day. It responds well to the TENS unit, and sometimes a cane helps (I have a collection of canes, and you probably knew that I would).

SOME of youse are satisfied with the usual "S" curve of your spine, but I went for the extra lateral curve option, and my torso shifts to the right a few degrees, and that seems to be the cause of the pain. 

The pain's been worse recently. It's a reminder that this model is aging.

It's also become clear that for some younger folks of my acquaintance, I'm now in the "cute old man" (or sometimes, "inspirational old man") contingent. In the same way I look at certain octogenarians and say, "That's the kind of 80-year-old I wanna be", some are looking at me and are apparently saying, "That's the kind of retiree I wanna be". It's a mixed blessing: I like the attention (there are worse kinds of attention, and lack of attention may be the worst), but pedestals have limited real estate, and hurt when you fall off. 

Also, there are things that are attractive when you're in your twenties, and rebellious when you're in your thirties, that are just icky when you're in your sixties.

(Every now and then, I'll be out in public, and see a particularly unkempt old man [the hippie look doesn't age well on males]. I often come home from such and encounter, and give myself another haircut. The Excellent Wife [TEW] occasionally objects to how short my hair is getting.)

It's good to be alive... but it's probably also time to get out of the way of what's coming next.