Pills

I've been blessed to have good health most of my life, and I still do. But there is one area of health that requires I take a pill . . . daily. My parents used to have a plastic box with seven little compartments that contained the pills they needed to take each day. As they aged, the compartments grew larger to accommodate the additional pills. I don't like that, but I can see I'm already moving that direction.

My doctor told me yesterday that pain is not a result of old age. Pain simply tells us that something's wrong. But it just so happens that as age increases more things go wrong, and some things don't work well. I'm doing fine with the one pill a day thing, but I suspect that within a few years, I'll have to consider additional pills. I'll probably not want to tell anyone about it because I don't want people to think I'm getting older (duh) or that I have to depend on a pill every day or two. My mind wants to remain young and free of medications, but my body may tell me something different. I'm sure my children will eventually remind me to keep them updated. I appreciate that and want them to do so.

I can better understand why my mother hated to take pills. They were a nuisance to her. And while I just wanted her to take the pills and quit making such a big deal about it, I now suspect she just got tired of having to take pills that she felt would probably do little more than cause more trouble for her as a cocktail in her system. Perhaps pills represented to her that something is always wrong with her–as if she didn't know that.

Oh well, that's part of aging. I suppose when Nike turns 75 their logo may change to "just take it." What are your thoughts?

Age well!

Bob

The 4th Quarter

I turn 65 next year and enter the 4th quarter of my life-game. It's hard to say good-by to rough and tumble types of activities, although I still look forward to hikes, biking, and playing with my grand-kids. I'm not as well connected to the latest cultural genres, but I can still enjoy a conversation with most people younger than me. AARP has been knocking at my mailbox door for the past 10 years and I'm still refusing to give in to it. And while I don't see myself in that category yet, I do understand that, like-it-or-not, I'm closer to becoming part of their clientele. 

Because of the internet, there's a lot more descriptive and helpful information about the aging process than ever before. So why am I writing a blog about it? Something needs to be said about the day-to-day changes and how one adapts to those changes. After all, it doesn't just happen overnight when you turn 65. What I'd like to portray is the personal side of aging–how I see the changes and how I respond to them. Some of those changes are across the board for everyone in my age bracket, but because we're all different, each of us has our own perspective on how we're aging. So my entries will be primarily on how I am experiencing the gradual changes of aging.

I'm writing, not to explain how I feel or to be the object of discussion, but to share how age develops and how one adapts to it. This is not a gripe session about one's aches and pains, although that is part of aging. It's more about how things change an how one can adapt to those changes. Feel free to disagree with me in your responses because each person sees aging differently. What I experience today you might not encounter for another few years. And how you respond to arthritis in your right knee may be completely different than what someone else experiences.

So whenever you're wondering about growing older and would like to talk about it or listen to what others are saying about it, come take a look. I'm open to suggestions and discussions. Whether you're 35 or 85, you're aging, so let's talk about it. See you next time!