Koch: Age gracefully? Nope — gonna fight it every step of the way

We try not to think about it too much. It gets pushed to the back burner while we're busy getting our kids through school, making a living, running errands and making sure the bills are paid — with an occasional trip to the gym or the doctor to keep things running smoothly.

Age, mortality — all that stuff is something we don't like to ponder, until one day instead of having to think about it, we're feeling it.

Some of you will know what I'm talking about. It's that sudden pain in the shoulder that just won't go away. Or that sharp twinge every time you step a certain way. We get more tired — way earlier — than we used to. We don't see so well — I now have to take my glasses off to see certain things — hear like we used to or run as fast. And sleep? Forget it. There's just no getting comfortable anymore on some nights.

I find myself refusing to acknowledge this process, even though I am a giant step into my 50s — dismissing the sore foot, the tick in the shoulder and my inability to see as “working too hard,” “having too much on my mind” or “staring at the computer too much.”

But I know better. Age is rearing her head at me, and it's time to take better care of myself.

As ebola fears reach the top of the news feed — and our worried minds — I realize that some health issues I fear, I can change myself.

Getting more active, eating better, taking time to de-stress and to get proper sleep are nothing we haven't heard we should do or thought about before. But a word to the wise, as we age and glitches, ticks and pains show up, it becomes more important to do all of those things. Because now, there's an hourglass attached — and the sands flow a little faster from the top to the bottom.

I look at my mom, who has been dealing with surgeries, problems and pain I can't imagine for many years now, and admire the way she still gets it all done — still takes care of her home, my dad, and even me and her grandkids as if to say, “Nope, it's not gonna beat me down.”

And I echo that. I won't let aging get me down or hurt me too badly. I'll just do the good stuff I should have done years ago before it's too late.

Mya Koch is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-324-1403 or mkoch@tribweb.com.