It's all in the hands.

For a few months now, my hands, especially my right hand, have been giving me grief.
Sharp pain in my thumb joint where it meets my palm, especially at the base of the joint.
Gripping seems to make it worse.
Having it looked at by my doctor and x-rays taken to ensure there's no bone damage, the consensus is pretty strong on some kind of arthritis.
It's honest wear. I've worked with my hands in some capacity for over forty years, turning wrenches at the bike shop and playing various instruments almost daily.
And now the chickens are coming home to roost.

I'm not super-depressed about it. My hands aren't falling off or in danger of being amputated.This is just plain old aging, nothing to do but soldier on with whatever ointments and pain meds I can use and hoping to wring a few more years out of my hands before I must stop doing it for a living.

I'm having a hand scan this week which will measure nerve response and possible nerve damage. I'm told it's done with a needle, and I hope it won't be so painful as to make me scream or force me to rest my hands this weekend.

I have a couple gigs coming up, this weekend and a longer one next weekend, and I am hoping that I can find a way to power through all that.

But yeah, this is the deal with getting older. I've used my body but good, and parts wear out over time.

Maybe this is part of some larger life-work shift that will become clearer over the coming year.

I'm listening.

(Photo: two of the meds I'm using to help reduce hand pain. The Lidocaine ointment is "Spearmint Flavored," apparently in case I decide to eat it, or huff it.)