I’ve been having trouble with my back this week. It started Monday and midweek I phoned for a doctor’s appointment. There was an opening for Friday morning that I took, but I was thinking: Surely I’ll be better by then. I wasn’t.

This week I’ve thought about my dad when it hurts to get up from sitting on a chair, when putting on my socks and shoes is painful, and when I use the "buttocks first" approach for getting in the car. My temporary discomfort isn’t significant enough that I can claim to empathize with my dad’s mobility issues, but it does remind me to sympathize.