Good Morning.
Despite the TV commercials that show senior citizens romping around like thirty-year-olds, the aging process isn't pleasant a great deal of the time. I refer now to the couple in their car discussing whether to get a Medicare supplement and shortly are carrying a canoe to the lake as easily as a shopping bag. Give me a break. And then there's Blythe Danner, looking absolutely stunning with her flowing gray hair and a size 8 body, who stares at a tree and asks if my bones are getting stronger. They're okay according to a bone density test a couple of years ago, but that doesn't have a thing to do with the arthritis that makes it difficult to open a can of tomato paste. All cans should come with a flip tab and all wine openers should suck, not twist, the cork out of a bottle, saving the hand for the more important task of raising a glass to the mouth.
Many of us must avoid certain foods like dairy products, gluten, or produce with seeds that can make an old person wrap up in an afghan and make deals with a higher power. Virtually all of us need glasses for driving, reading, or both, and some of us have hearing aids. My favorite story about the hard of hearing involved a gentleman who always sat in front of me in church many years ago and switched off his devices the minute the sermon began. Having a sense of humor is essential to the management of one's seniority and is also useful for those who must deal with us.
Getting in and out of certain vehicles isn't possible for some of us anymore. My granddaughter's roomy sedan is the easiest
for me, but pick ups and SUVs that require stepping up and swinging a mess of humanity into a seat are out of the question. Car service outfits that provide courtesy rides need to remember that a lawyer who drops off his BMW for an oil change and needs a lift to the courthouse is not the same sort of passenger as the retired dog groomer who is on her way to a Scrabble tournament with a brain that still works okay but hips and knees that do not.
Some of us lose our teeth and have to keep a set of dentures in glasses of water on the bedside table with glue on the sink to install them. I have my own teeth so far minus a couple I opted to have pulled rather than undergo a root canal. I decided to reserve my anxiety quotient for a vital organ that will someday need to be repaired, replaced, or resectioned.
Some of us may use a magnifying glass to sort through the grocery coupons, but we're still able to use a regular scissors to clip them. The blunt, rounded edge kindergarten item isn't necessary, thank you, despite the whispers of adult children who shake their heads and ask if our wills are up to date. Grandchildren, at any age, are more tolerant because they know that old people also like to come out and play as long as a lawn chair and a restroom are nearby.
We also like to save things, not just family pictures and old greeting cards, but also those hospital socks with the rubber things on the soles that make for safer walking on hardwood floors. Fashion forward isn't a priority anymore, even when the relatives stop by and find us wearing a striped shirt with plaid slacks and a cardigan with holes in it. At the moment I have on my favorite sweater with a large, unraveled gap held together with a safety pin, but I could put together something appropriate for lunch or afternoon tea if absolutely necessary.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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