feeling old

I have a bad back and it rears its ugly head occasionally when I try to do too much lifting of heavy things.  Last week I was clearing the cupboards in the office and on Friday evening I knew I was in for a bad spell of back ache.  So today I am resting at home, in bed with the sons old laptop propped by my side.
But I did have to go to the Doctors to get my  medication and a little slip of paper  that says I am medically unfit to work for the day.  So off I went slowly with an umbrella acting as a walking stick, to the docs.
walking slowly made me realise what it would be like to get old and have an unsteady gait and slower reflexes.
I see it in my mum, I see her slow down and she cant walk as fast as she used to, and her knees aren't in good condition so stairs are hard for her.
We don't realise how hard it is for the older folk, they walk slower and people in a hurry click their tongues in impatience at them and brush past them without considering that if they pushed a bit too hard, the older folk could actually fall.  I experienced that today, with my walking stick and bad back, I walked slowly and had several people make chichak noises behind me and brush past me impatiently.  They could have said "excuse me and waited till I could move aside for them.  We are all getting too impatient, we are all forgetting that one day we will all get old and slow down.
so from today I am not going to be impatient with the older folk if they are walking slowly in front of me as I know that one day it could be me......