Bernard O'Shea: Five things I learned from my first bad fall

I took a spectacular tumble into middle age—and learned five unexpected lessons from my first “bad fall.”

Bernard O'Shea: "We spend a lot of time pretending we’re still in our 20s. We talk about starting yoga. We wear runners designed for sprinting, but only walk to the car with them."

1. Mocking is catching, especially when it comes to your mother

I was on stage doing stand-up, absolutely roasting my mother for saying, “You’re only about 10 or 15 years away from your first bad fall.” This is a classic Irish mammy line, delivered with that mix of doom and helpfulness she reserves for weather warnings and people she insists I know but don’t know have died.