I feel quite certain my family is glad last week is over.

It was an incredibly busy week for me, and by the time Monday rolled around I was just bone tired.

Despite the fact I knew my crazy schedule would eventually come to a close, it still did not keep me from complaining just a bit about the hundred million things going on.

This is why I said I know my loved ones were glad to see my schedule get back to normal.

I guess it is just a law of nature that everything happens all at once, but the “more mature” I get, the harder it is to physically recover from an inexhaustible to-do-list.

In my younger days, juggling a plethora of activities might have been demanding. I just don’t quite remember ever feeling like I had been hit with a bat.

Fair chance, back then, I may have wanted to hit someone with a bat. However, though my mind was stressed, my body served me well.

Growing older has not all been gloom and doom, but it has definitely had its challenges.

Take, for instance, I used to work in my yard all day long and sometimes into the early evening; but now, I find myself frazzled after just a few hours in the heat.

I can’t clean my house for long periods of time, either, without having to take a break every so often.

I take vitamins and try to work out in the gym three days a week to improve my stamina, but I still don’t have the same amount of vigor I did when I was a younger.

For those who have led a full and active lifestyle, you probably get my drift.

It is trying to accept having to adjust to a slower pace of life.

One website suggests that as we grow older our mitochondria begin to wane.

I haven’t heard the word mitochondria since I was in biology class in high school. I guess I should have paid better attention.

Apparently, as they age, our mitochondria become less efficient at turning fuel into energy, and the number of mitochondria per cell reduces.

As a result, our bodies have to function with one-half to one-fourth the energy it had in its youth, the website stated.

Well there you go.

I can blame my mitochondria for my slow recovery.

Now that I know there is a biological theory as to why I can’t do everything I used to do, I guess I should just accept my plight.

But knowing my personality, I won’t.

No doubt I will, at some time, find myself overdoing my physical limits. Therefore, I just need to remember that my mitochondria will need a longer rest afterwards.

And for all those who might be in my radius when I am overextending myself, I apologize in advance.

It’s just my old mitochondria making me gripe.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a reporter with The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.