38 But I’ve Been Sick

The proverbial question, “How old are you”?
It is much easier to say, “38 but I have been sick” than saying 64 and getting those quizzical looks, some of disbelief, some showing empathy and some that say, “then get a move on, I need that machine”.
If you feign illness I would think there would be much more tolerance for slower movement.
In fact I actually feel 38, I just don’t move as easy as a 38 year old.
The body is not 38 and most days recognizes that fact but is willing to ignore it.
The pay back comes at night, aches that wake you up when you roll over on a recently strained arm, touchy hip or even worse an unbending lower back.
Then you see those fleeting shadows, circling the bed, those dream hallucinations that haunt the edge of near sleep.
Finally the pain or ache brings you full awake and you lie there, thinking, “Should I do arms in the morning or maybe work on some back health”?
Some would say that those questions in themselves betray a level of mental imbalance but when I dredge up those memories of the past when I was actually 38, I think I was more stressed and sleeping even worse that I am now.
There were different hallucinations that haunted those days.
So here I am back to 38 recovering from a lifetime of bad habits, trying to get to 30 or maybe 28 but a long road lies ahead.
Spin, lift, Boot Camp, run, walk the golf course, no more carts, no more easy paths and besides it is cheaper.
The groceries no longer include meat but yogurt, berries, salmon, tuna, cottage cheese, whole grain bread, pine nuts, almonds, whey protein, nothing too tasty but just right for muscle and growing younger.
So yes, “I am 38 but I have been sick”.
It is only in the past two years I think I am finding a cure.
I just want to make sure I don’t go too far and get back into diapers.
My wife has already said she is too old for any more babies.