Getting shorter

“Are you sure? Could you check again?” I asked the medical assistant. She laughed, but I was dumbfounded. I didn’t think that it was really possible at a mere 41 years of age, but it’s true. She measured (twice) 5 feet, 3 and a half inches. That’s half an inch shorter than the 5’4” I have been my entire adult life. Trying to make me feel better, the MA mentioned that “people tend to be shorter in the afternoon. Your other measurements could be morning measurements.”

Can this be happening? I suppose that my grandma got really short in her later years; we tease my mom about shrinking. But not me, I am way too young. Admittedly, I noticed at a meeting last night, that, indeed, I had less of a backbone than usual to speak up....maybe half an inch less.