As much as I may try to resist it, I am often hit with an undeniable fact. I'm not as young as I used to be. Earlier this week, I was slapped with yet another reminder of this cold, hard truth. I had another one of what has become a monthly task; a visit to the orthopedic doctor.
I like the orthopedic doctor and his staff is generally pretty good. I honestly cannot complain about the quality of care I have received over the past several months. I suppose the one thing that causes me distress is that I have needed the care of an orthopedic doctor over the past several months. I enter each visit with a great deal of optimism that adequate progress will have been made and the doctor will say, "Congratulations Rick, everything is healed and back to normal." I'm beginning to feel that even after everything is healed, the "new normal" won't be like the "old normal." During my last visit, I was told to "keep wearing the boot," and that arthritis was starting to set into my left ankle. I shouldn't be surprised. In fact, I was told that would be a very real possibility. I was given a prescription to address the arthritis which will hopefully help with much of the stiffness and soreness I feel in my left ankle.
I probably shouldn't complain too much. I see people all around who are in much worse shape than the guy looking back at me in the mirror.
Looking on the brighter side, I still gladly take advantage of any "old man discounts" I can get. In fact, I never hesitate to ask for that discount at every opportunity. The first time I was able to reap the benefits of advanced chronology, it took me a little by surprise. The young lady at the movie theater in South Florida gave me a "senior discount" without my prompting and I was tempted to correct her. I then realized that it was worth a couple of dollars and it didn't bother me at all. Like most everything else, my vanity does have a price.
As I mentioned before, I shouldn't complain. I'm here on the "sunny side of dirt," and that should be reason enough to overlook a little bit of ankle stiffness.