Getting Old

I'm getting old. A few weeks ago, I really hurt my back picking Corbin up out of the jumper. My back hurt for the entire next week. I did the same thing a couple of months ago playing volleyball. I took a couple of weeks off from volleyball to let my back heal. Last night was my first night back. Now my shoulder is sore. I went to the doctor last Tuesday to see if I had really done something wrong. He felt really bad about telling me, but he said that I was just experiencing some of the normal things that happen as you get old. I'm not ready to be old yet. I still like to play volleyball, stay up late playing video games, sleep in on the weekends, and generally be a kid.

I guess I don't feel like a kid all the time. During class, and when I'm at work, I feel like an adult. Otherwise, I'm still an eight year old on the inside. I watch cartoons and play Nintendo. I like the comics section of the newspaper the best. I always thought that becoming a dad would be that defining moment when I started to feel like an adult. Well, it didn't happen. Now I'm looking forward to when Corbin can pick up a controller and play Nintendo with me. I look forward to waking up Saturday mornings with our boy to watch cartoons.

Unfortunately, my body is giving me reminders that I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I don't get over soreness in one night anymore. Now it takes a few days, if not a couple of weeks. If I try to play more than a couple of hours of volleyball, my body starts to complain. Some of it has to do with the fact that I'm not in the same shape I was in during high school. I'm sure that if I was exercising every weekday for two or three hours like I did in high school, I probably would heal a lot faster. Unfortunately, I just don't have the time or the desire to do that anymore.

Hopefully, I can learn my limits and not get sore like this every week. Maybe all of this soreness will result in my being a little strong. Maybe it's a good thing. I'd rather not be sore, and I'd rather not be getting old. As long as I'm a kid at heart, though, I think I'll always feel young.