You know that feeling when the air itself feels thick, like you’re trying to breathe water, and the sun’s just beating down on your neck, making your shirt stick to your back? That’s what it was like yesterday. Mid-fifties, still humping it on residential, lifting these goddamn heavy stones for a retaining wall. And I’ve done this a million times, you know? Like, my hands are made for this, for hauling and stacking and making something real from nothing. But then, as I’m trying to set this one capstone, a big flat bastard, my fingers just… felt like they were slipping. Not like sweaty-slipping, more like, the *grip* itself just wasn’t there. Like the connection between my brain and my muscles just frayed, kinda. It wasn't a big deal, I caught it, reset it. No one saw. But it was just that split second. That instant where you realize the tool, *your own hands*, aren’t working the way they used to. And you think about all the years, all the jobs, all the times you just gritted your teeth and pushed through, because that’s what you do. Because there’s rent, and there’s the truck payment, and there’s just… life, you know? And suddenly, it’s not about pushing through anymore, it’s about this weird, quiet shift. Like the earth just moved an inch under your feet and no one else noticed. Is that weird? Does everyone feel this? My old man, he worked till he dropped. Literally. Just keeled over on a roof one hot summer. No pension, no savings, just a good work ethic and a bad ticker. And I always swore I’d be smarter. But here I am, still laying brick, still feeling that familiar ache in my shoulders at the end of the day. And now this. This new ache, the one that’s not in your muscles but… in your bones, maybe? Or deeper, in the quiet part of your head where you keep all the "what ifs." It’s just… heavy. Like that capstone. Just sitting there, waiting for you to pick it up again. And you will. But it feels different now. It feels like time is finally catching up, and it’s not just a tired feeling. It's something else. Something you don't even have a word for yet.