Old age is catching up

Dear Gran

I turned 37 yesterday, I used to feel like 18 with some experience but by last night I felt like old age had got me firmly grasped by the ankle. The Sands of Time are running low.

The cause of this rapid ageing was our stake athletics day. I have never been a great sprinter but the passing of time makes my youthful prowess seem better than it actually was. I represented my ward in the 400 m race.

400 m is once around the track but it might as well have been to the moon.

After the first hundred metres my lungs were burning, my chest heaving and my legs had turned to jelly.

This second hundred metre stretch was furthest from the seating, fortunately as the look on my face was enough to scare small children. My teeth were bared in a fixed grin of pain. My eyes stared somewhere in the distance, my nostrils were flared as they tried to extract oxygen from what seemed to be a vacuum. And my left knee was starting to make a loud knocking noise, but I could hardly hear it above the noise of the crowd cheering the winners as they came down the home straight.

As I came around the last corner with only 100 m to go I knew that I would eventually make it. I was not sure if I would make it before everybody else went home!

I think I crossed the finish line some time that afternoon, I remember waking up with the drizzle on my face wondering why the grass seemed so comfortable.

The ward was able to take second place in spite of of my lack of abilities on the track.

Gillian and the kids all had a great time too. Zeek is a natural sportsman, Cheryn runs like her mom.