Confessions of an Agile Elder Law Attorney: Trails and Tribulations
I spend my professional life advising people about preparing and planning for the expected and unexpected realities of aging. I discuss long-term care plans, care coordination, estate planning, and asset protection. I am almost in my mid-60s, crush my almost daily Peloton classes (admittedly only for my gender and age group), log miles walking and hiking, and secretly pride myself on my stamina.
Then came last Saturday.
There I was, power-walking down a peaceful nature trail in the Berkshires. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. I was the literal poster child for "aging gracefully and actively." Until a rogue tree root, measuring approximately two inches high, decided to humiliate me.
It seemed like it happened in slow motion. My toe caught the root. My arms went out like a deranged windmill. For two glorious seconds, I defied physics. Then, my entire left-side hit the ground like a ton of bricks, my face-planting directly into a patch of damp mud. My Apple Watch immediately freaked out, threatening to call emergency services, presumably because it has read my estate plan and knows I’m not ready for any of the contingencies I tell other people to prepare for.
Surprisingly and fortunately, no bones were broken. The sprained wrist, scraped chin, and shattered dignity will all heal. And as I sat there scraping moss off my palms, a few universal truths became painfully obvious.
Gravity is an equal opportunity employer. It does not care about your Peloton streak.
The ground has no respect for your age. It will hit you just as hard whether you are 33, 63, or 103.
Being fit makes you resilient, not invincible — a distinction I will now be adding to my client consultations.
The true comedy of the situation hit me while I was waiting for x-rays in the emergency room of the local hospital. I am an elder law attorney. I literally draft documents to protect people when they fall down and can't get up.
If anyone on that trail had recognized me, they would have seen the supreme irony: a woman who helps people plan for physical vulnerability, completely taken out by a piece of wood.
We tend to associate falls with frailty. We imagine them happening only to much older adults, people with walkers, or those who have aides. But the truth is far more democratic: falls happen to all people with feet.
Being active and fit is fantastic. It means when I fell, I bounced but did not break. However, staying young at heart and strong in body doesn't grant us immunity from the laws of nature. So, to my fellow active aging adults—and to the smug 30-year-olds who passed me on the trail—keep moving, keep hiking, and keep pushing your limits. Just remember to look down occasionally.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an ace bandage to wrap and an estate plan to update.
