Much like a used care, the older I get, the more parts that need fixed. Since turning 50, my hinges creak and muscles tire more quickly. I feel like I should get a prize because I have three new diagnoses that “come with aging” over the last year. Arthritis does suck mom, as you told me it would. She never complained like I do when I get up. As a matter of fact, noises escape my mouth whether I sit down or get up from a chair. It is as though either require an enormous amount of expended energy now. Sad and pitiful.
I used to shake my head at people like me and think, “Good Lord, why must they make so much noise just to get up?” As the knife twists in my rheumatoid joints and the swelling prevents my rings from going on or coming off, I want to smack that little twerp I was in my twenties. I had no idea the pain you could get just by getting up wrong from a chair.
I don’t have to like what is happening to my aging body, but that won’t change the happening. I know every life challenge is a part of a bigger plan. I hate surprises, and nothing has surprised me more about life than getting older. It seems like yesterday that I was climbing trees in my yard and dad was yelling at me to get down before I break my neck. Now, I walk across the yard and fall in non-existent holes ten feet from my front door and sprain something. Even with no trips or falls, things don’t work well, the body starts moving slower, and you have to slow down even if you don’t want to. You have to plan outings strategically because you know you will run out of steam after a few hours.
Recently, I realized I was getting old when I went to Goodwill and actually bought a cane because it was only $2.00 and with my Wednesday senior discount and the tag color, it cost me only 99 cents. Wow! For that, I can store it for a few years or use it to beat off a burglar. I have found humor in it all as it is as easy to laugh as to cry and takes less energy.
sherrystruthtofiction 