Oooooo-Ouch!

As a child about age 4, three of of my grandparents passed away within months of each other. None of them were very old. In fact I am almost 'that' age, now. Between their deaths and listening to my surviving grandmother talk about her aches and pains, I remember thinking how awful it must be to be to be old. (I even became scared of someday being in my fifties because I thought that everyone fell apart during this decade.)
As a young adult, I started to notice that my parents were chiming in and talking about their aches and pains often with family and friends. It seemed to my young mind all the adults were trying to outdo each other's horror stories about their pains, doctor visits, and medicines. It was enough to make me roll my eyes. How was it that adults seemed to have nothing better to talk about?........
Well, guess what?! I am now the older adult who sits with friends listening to their medical histories and sharing my own. George and I wake up in the morning and ask how each is doing with an understanding that even a night's sleep presents it's own difficulties....insomnia, back and shoulder aches, headaches, having to get up several times, hard to walk after getting out of bed, etc. When we get together with friends, it is not uncommon for us to greet each other with the question, 'How are you doing" or "What did you hear at your last doctor's appointment?" What is so scary is how fast we got here!
So.....kids, I apologize...When you ask how we are doing and you get more information than you might want to hear and are tempted to roll your eyes, I understand. But this has become a very real part of our lives. Thank goodness we 'older people' also find humor in our aches and pains. 'Sick' humor, I admit....but someday....kids, you too will understand and laugh.