Aches and pains

A few days ago, a muscle in my back began feeling sore. The dull pain is right in the middle of my back, right of my spine, I think where the lat meets the trap. I can't explain what caused the strain. I think our couch isn't conducive to good posture. That sounds ridiculous, but it's not the first time that the couch has exacerbated back pain. 

Unfortunately, the pain is in a spot that I can't sleep that comfortably on either side. I might turn slightly in the middle of the night and wake up in discomfort. The muscle is aching right now, after mostly feeling good all day -- I even ran this morning with no trouble. I was sitting on the couch, however ...

I'll take a couple Tylenol PMs and hope I can sleep comfortably. The pain began so seemingly instantly, and not following any difficult activity, that the minor hypochondriac in me wonders if it's something that's not just a muscle strain. But, it just might be age.

Popcorn turns 10 next week, and she has some arthritis and what might be hip dysplasia. Today, we walked to the dog park, and she ran around like she was a puppy again. After a few minutes, she returned to me, tail wagging, almost smiling in joy that she was having so much fun ... but also limping. She overdid it a little. It must be tough to be half-pointer, half-black lab and not want to play with everything you got. She walked out the limp a little bit and we were able to make it home. She's tired tonight, and hopefully the puppy ibuprofen she takes is making her feel a little less sore.

Years ago, I remember asking my grandmother how she was doing after she wasn't feeling well -- I can't remember exactly what was ailing her. She replied with, "Growing old sucks." The best I can do is take care of myself the best that I can, try to lose some weight (it hasn't been easy lately -- too much grazing during the day), and stay positive. But Grandma was right: Growing old does suck.