the gravity of the situation

Riding hour after endless hour in a car can turn me into a desperate housewife. Desperate to breathe fresh air, desperate to stretch, desperate to stop the world from moving.
On a long trip a few years ago, my mind had turned into a straight line and I was beginning to feel ready to hurl myself from the moving vehicle. Suddenly, Three Valley Gap loomed directly ahead.
Into the parking lot we shot, like goats into a barn.
Out of the car we staggered.
Into the gardens we hobbled.
Ahhhhhh, the sun was warm on our back. A breeze lifted our hair and our spirits.
"Hope springs eternal in the human breast."
I soon felt a rising optimism about life in general and road trips specifically.
In the distance a swing beckoned.
A few light steps and we were there.
I found I hadn't forgotten how to pump.
Higher and higher.
I felt young and giddy.
I felt weightless and free.
I felt like sliding off the swing in mid air.
Oh, to land once more like thistle down.
Actually, I landed with a thunk like a sack of potatoes.
I'm sure all my vertebrae compressed and my teeth clenched.
What had happened to the spring in my step?
Where had my bounce gone?
I made a similar discovery last year while demonstrating hop scotch for my grandson. Gravity seems stronger than it used to be.
"You're as young as you think you are," is an amazingly misleading quote. "You're only as old as you feel," isn't much better.
I think I've had my head in the sand, and like the ostrich, a bit more running and a little less denial wouldn't hurt. It might even help.