The privilege of paying attention to my body

From vertigo to bursitis, getting older is teaching me a lot of lessons about what "self-care" really means.

The first time I experienced vertigo, I had just turned 40 and was on a camping trip in northern Michigan. I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and when I rolled over to unzip my sleeping bag, the tent seemed to roll with me…and kept rolling.

I had no idea what was going on as I stumbled out of the tent and tried to regain my balanc…