September 23, 2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Getting Old.

Natalie was telling me about her ankle. It was hurting. For no reason at all, when she was walking down the street, her ankle turned over. Now it hurts. She is older than me and she has never been very physically active either as a child or a young adult. She is of the age when proper young women were not supposed to sweat. So she did not. Several years ago when she was diagnosed with some difficulty with her heart and put on medication, the Doctor suggested that she walk for exercise. But she told me that she got tired when she walked. I suggested that nothing bad occurs when you get tired. I am a hard lady.

When she was telling me about her ankle, I asked her if she was over seventy and she assured me that she was. My comment was not kind but it was accurate. "Natalie", I said, "over the age of seventy it will be one damn thing after another, so get ready for it". She laughed and so did I, but it seems to be coming true. Natalie is the lucky one. Her husband, who seemed to be in perfect health, all of a sudden died of a heart attack at age 72. Bummer. We still miss him in the office.

Today I noticed Fran limping. It seems that her back is causing trouble and also her hips, so the Doctors are trying to determine the source of the pain. She is not enjoying this process of getting old. So here we go, heading into our old age but trying to keep the legs still walking!!