“Who’s that old guy who keeps following me around?”

At first I didn’t know what my friend Gary was talking about.

Some friends and I were having lunch together last week. I looked around the table and the others also seemed confused. Gary smiled and explained, “Time is passing too fast. I look in the mirror and hardly recognize the man looking back at me. He’s too old.”

I’ve had similar moments. I’m 52, and notice more wrinkles and my muscles aren’t as tone as they used to be, no matter how much I exercise. How did this happen? Sometimes it feels like just yesterday I was in my early thirties.

I understand and have (almost) accepted that a changing physical appearance is part of aging. My body is different inside too. I don’t have as much energy as I used to. Injuries take longer to heal and new…