An interesting, though a bit unsettling, phenomenon has begun to occur.

Things have started to ache.

And when I say ‘things’ I mean: knees, hips and back. My suspicion (actually my hope) is that it is related to all the rain we have received this winter, the dampness has just settled in and the aches are prevalent. I’m pretty sure that is possible.

My hands have been a lost cause for quite some time, they are frequently still sleeping long after I get up for the day but that, of course, is a byproduct of years and years of being on the keyboard for multiple hours each week. You learn to deal with the tingling and the numbness or you have surgery. I can type pretty well with numb fingers.

Of course, there is probably also an age-related factor when it comes to the aches and pains but I would prefer to blame it on the weather. If I am still using the heating pad in July as much as I am now, there’s more of an issue than just the rainy weather.

The good thing about it, though, is you just keep moving. My daughter’s dog still needs to be walked (apparently rain doesn’t bother her) on a daily basis – side note, I typically walk the dog, every once in a while my daughter tags along – and I am staying busy, weather permitting, traipsing from the baseball field to the softball diamond to the tennis court.

So there really isn’t time to slow down too much.

On an entirely different subject, we are hitting the home stretch for The Bachelor. This has nothing to do with the weather but is another interesting phenomenon. I know, not everyone watches this but as I have said before, it’s my one true guilty pleasure. We have also successfully drawn my daughter’s fiancé, Judd, in to the fray, though he would probably deny it if you asked him face to face.

I was with them over the weekend, shopping for some paint as they were touching up and refreshing a piece of furniture and as we were driving back, he asked for an update on the ‘hometowns’ episode since he did not get to watch that one. He quickly stopped himself: “I can’t believe I just asked about that. Don’t tell me,” he said.

Five seconds passed.

“Okay, tell me, I really want to know,” he admitted.

So the show can quickly grab your attention, even if you know you probably shouldn’t be watching. Judd even has his favorite ‘contestant’, the one he wants Colton, the current bachelor, to pick at the end of this. We also still have the ‘Women Tell All’ episode to enjoy, that should be a fun one to watch, the drama unfolding in living color.

The premise is one that Judd (not to mention countless others) finds a bit ludicrous, especially with Colton freely admitting that he is ‘falling in love’ with every single one of the remaining girls – all four of them with whom he had ‘hometown’ dates to meet their families. So he professed his love to them, and then had to send one of them home anyway.

Is it the best way to find true love? Who knows? And who really cares? There are some relationships started on national television that have survived and who’s to say this way is any better or worse than any other. People go speed dating, they use websites, they get set up on blind dates … there are any number of avenues to try and meet ‘the one.’

Those on the Bachelor and Bachelorette just go looking for their soulmate in front of millions of devoted viewers, every week. Plus they get to travel to some really cool places.

So we’ll just have to wait and see if the latest love story in prime time works out. And if Judd has picked the right girl for Colton.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Escalon Times, The Oakdale Leader and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 847-3021.