MY UNLOVELY BONES

28 going on 89
I am 28 years old. Twenty-eight. So why do I feel like I'm turning 89 instead of 29? My knees ache when it rains (so painful!), I can't put any pressure on my wrist, and if every vertebra in my spine isn't stuck, my sternum is popping. If it's not one thing, it's another. So what's the problem? Why do I already have degeneration in my vertebrae and arthritis in my wrist?

Calcium?
I drink about a pot of coffee a day. With cream. I get plenty of calcium.

Exercise?
Have I mentioned I'm a special ed teacher? For little kids? They are wicked quick. I should wear a pedometer. I get plenty of exercise.

Weightlifting?
I actually did start lifting at the gym again. And these little kids I chase after...yeah, I also pick them up from time to time. I lift plenty.

Injuries?
Well there was the time I got a concussion when chaperoning a middle school dance a couple years ago....and the first time I tried snowboarding, went to the top of the mountain without a lesson and ended up with lots of bumps and bruises. Come to think of it, I developed a small ball in my wrist after that... Injuries? I've had plenty.

Ergonomics?
I sit on a stool that's too short and work at the kitchen table. If I'm not at the table, I sit on the couch and work. And my chair at school...I can't even talk about it. It's so old there's probably a small colony taking up residence in the underside. Ergonomics? What's that?

The Truth
I'm getting older. I'm not 17 anymore (even though I act like I am sometimes). If I don't make changes now I will be a hunchback when I'm 30. Who wants a hunchback with unlovely bones?