Thursday, February 21, 2013

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY

Wasn't I just speaking about time?  Today,well Feb 22, I am 69, as in SIXTY NINE!!  (I think this blog publishes in west coast time, because I wrote it after midnight in east coast time) However, I digress. How can that be that I am that old.?  Oh, my body feels at least 69 many days.  It's creaky and slow to unbend.  My hands and arms no longer look like they belong to me.  In fact I am sure they are my mother's.  There's this strange bit of extra skin under my chin.  I know that it belongs to my grandmother.  All the sudden one day I looked in the mirror and there it was.  I liked it on my grandmother, who was part English, and had the softest skin  It looked right, there, on her face.  In my memory she always had it. I wonder if there was a time in her life when she looked in the mirror and first noticed it.

My body sends me little messages  in many different ways that things are not working as they once did.  Pizza is not to be eaten right before bed because my aging digestive system sends out a shrieking alarm of heartburn which can last long into the night.  My knees protest when I get down on them to retrieve an object that had the nerve to roll under some piece of furniture.  I use this long stick, with pincher's on the end, to reel in objects that have risen above my shrinking stature.

My ears ring..... constantly.  It was very annoying when I first became aware of that incessant buzzing.  Now I hardly notice it.  I forget things ..like where did I put my phone, or what is my husband's name....just kidding about the second one!  I can remember many things from the past, but remembering what I had for lunch yesterday just isn't worth using up those dwindling brain cells.

I wouldn't want to be any other age than the one I am right now.  No way I want to go back and live through some of those years again.  However, I do miss my younger body.  The one that could run down the beach, flying like the wind, beating my dad who was a state champion sprinter.  The body that could carry two kids, one on each hip, up and down the stairs, no aching knees, no shortness of breath.  The girl who did handstands off the high diving board and cartwheels over and over.  I look in the mirror and I still see her, it's the body I don't recognize. My grandmother (see previous post) was right you know, time, which we all take for granted, it goes in the blink of an eye.

2 comments:

  1. Ok, I've gone almost all the way back to the beginning since realizing that you had a blog. My eyes are crossed from the word verification and that just shows you how much I've enjoyed myself here because I am not a fan of the "prove you're not a robot" thing. I got rid of it on my blog.
    Anyhoo - you are now in my blog folder that I go to daily and will be checking in to make sure you're behaving yourself.
    BTW - happy b-day, my friend.

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  2. We ARE getting older. Our bodies HAVE BEEN invaded by aliens. But, the fact remains....we ARE still here. 58 years, my friend....58 years. Damn!
    Hope you have a spectacular birthday and Honey Bunny takes you to PF Changs! XXOO

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