Birthdays 20, 30, 40, and 50 never bothered me. Then 60 came along and I started thinking that I was getting on in age (silly, I know). This month I celebrated (?) my 70th birthday – that made me feel old. I know they say age is only a number, and I don’t really feel any different than when I was 69, but I started thinking about some changes I’ve been noticing over the past few years.
I know age isn’t the only reason I bruise more easily than ever before. I’ve been on blood thinners for 12 years now, since I had a very bad blood clot in 2014, so I know that is one of the reasons I bruise more easily. But I also know my age might create more bruising than in the past.
I definitely cut easier than when I was younger. It seems to me that any little bump into any object with an edge to it tears my skin, and since I’m on blood thinners, I bleed much easier.
I noticed my skin has different wrinkles than when I was younger, and I think I’m losing some of the muscles I still had left from my early years.
Gone are the days when I’d climb a ladder and get onto the roof of my home. I don’t trust my balance as much as I used to, and it’s not easy climbing a ladder when you need a knee replaced.
I can’t recall a time during my life that I would purposely take a nap – don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken many “unintentional” naps in my life, but never any planned ones, and the unintentional ones come more frequently.
My doctor has added a couple of pills to my regimen, but I suppose that’s pretty normal as the years pile on.
Memory is another prominent issue. I used to have dozens of phone numbers committed to memory, but maybe that’s not so much attributed to my age as it is to the fact that we no longer need to remember phone numbers – our phones do that for us. What we have to remember is who we want to call and touch our phone screen a couple of times, and the phone call is done for us.
Remembering names isn’t a new problem for me. I have to meet someone several times before their name is committed to my memory.
I’ve found that making notes has become much more important than ever before. That includes grocery shopping notes. With notes, I can remember everything I went to the store for – I almost always get a lot more than what’s on the list, but I do remember the things I went for. Without a list, you can’t ask me to get more than three items – I guarantee you that without a list, I will forget at least one of the items. I’m not convinced this is a new problem attributed to my age; I think I’ve always had this problem.
As hard as I try, I have trouble recalling planned events or appointments. It’s a good thing my doctor’s office has realized they have a lot of aging patients, and they are very good at sending out reminders with emails and text messages.
I know for a fact that my golf swing has “evolved” over the years. I still hit the ball pretty well, but the distance it goes is much less than when I was younger – some of the distance loss can be blamed on the Florida air, but aging has a way of shortening your swing, so that’s to blame too.
I’m not sure there is anything that could make me run again. Most days I find myself taking a few seconds to get my legs used to the fact that I got up on them to walk somewhere, and I have to take my time getting started with much shorter steps – I guess I can blame most of that on the fact that I need to get my knee replaced.
Something else I’ve noticed is that I don’t need to eat as much to feel full. That turns out to be a good thing for someone who could stand to lose a few pounds, but as we age, our metabolism slows down too.
If I’m being honest, I’d have to ask my family and friends to forgive me if I forget their birthdays – I’ve never been very good at remembering birthdays, but my recall has diminished some.
The golden years might be a little rusty, but each day I wake up and get moving is another gift I treasure.
I guess age is just a number, but all of us getting older realize the day will come when staying active isn’t as easy as it was in our early years.
Have A Good Week!
