need a bigger backpack now...

I did a bit of modeling in my teens
didn't amount to much
but it helped my battered self-esteem
these days...
...beauty is something my mirror no longer sees
{at least not by me}
it's okay...I'm of an age...
but that's another story...
...not where this one is going

it's a sobering moment
to wake up one morning
...physically older
but the mind & the memories
...are as exuberant as ever
a living time capsule...as it were
leaving one perplexed
wondering how did I get here
this is a surreal reality

I'm an outdoorsy kinda gal
always have been...still am
nature fills me
in a way no human being ever can
yet going camping now...
...means waking with back pain
knowing the days of a sleeping bag
spread flat on the ground
earth & bedding with nothing between
...those days are long gone
even an air mattress less than 2 feet deep
is gonna require an engine-hoist
just to get up in the morning
and tylenol right beside the required coffee cup
that arthritis in my spine...
requires more creature comforts
just to survive

but I pack for disaster these days
so I'm ready
no...I would never imply my best days are behind me
but they sure didn't have this many wrinkles, kinks & pains
still...I ain't done living
I'm packing my geritol & tylenol
for good measure...I got the lidocaine...
...& taking it all with me!