When my mother got old, her back was bent like the top of a cane. She looked curled even when she stood. Like a drying leaf that's fallen from a tree. Gradually, her body pulled in, shoulders and neck forward. Head canted down. She became smaller and smaller until one day she wasn't there any more. Do you know people like that? People who, when you see them after a few months apart, look noticeably smaller? Shrinking and curling are common patterns of aging -- … [Read more...]