Feeling My Age...

 

...and not liking it.

Aging is a part of life.  Infants can't do what toddlers can.  Toddler can't do what young children can.  Young children grow into tweens and then teens and finally young adults.  We take steps along a path that is not always straight.

When we finally get to adulthood, things can be (or are) pretty good.  We are capable.  We are able.  We are!

Then the aging process creeps up on us.  The wrinkles and lines come.  (I've been ignoring them for years...decades perhaps).  There may be gray hairs.  (The blonde seems to cover mine, but I see them in my eyebrows!)  Then there are the inexplicable (or maybe explicable) aches and pains.  Injuries that take longer to heal (even stupid things like cuts).  What was once speeding up is now slowing down.

While I don't mind getting older (or at least that's what I am going to say), I don't like the slowing down.  

It all started last December (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/kneedy.html and https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/tired-of-being-kneedy.html) and continued into January (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/knees-up.html).  When my knee was finally better, I had an ear issue and while there is nothing wrong, I have tinnitus to this day.  I've had other "lady" issues this year.  Losing weight has been a challenge.  I haven't lost any (I've gained, what a surprise).  I used to be able to pull off a few pounds without too much work.  Now that's a whole other story.  (Although I will say that perhaps I haven't been trying "hard" enough.  My diet has never been great and I have been walking less because every so often the knee just doesn't like it.)  Plus the weight has seemed to settle in places like my lower belly (which doesn't seem to want to shrink even if I lose weight) and my upper arms.  (Yes, I have wings and I like to wear sleeveless shirts in the summer.)  I get leg cramps (though taking magnesium seems to help a little.)  I have those silly aches in my backside when I get up in the morning.  I'm not happy.

But perhaps what irks me most is that yesterday my son and I took a hike.  It was an easy hike up to one of our favorite places:  Indian Ladder Falls.  We took the lake path, which is very simple, but I had a few problems.  I want to say that it was because it was damp and there was some ice, but...When we got to the Trout Steam Trail which takes you to the falls, there was a large group of people.  So we decided to take the alternate trail, which is still easy, but not as smooth as the other.  And I had some difficulties.  The roots of the rhododendron  trees were more difficult to navigate.  Whenever the path was rocky or uneven, I really had to slow down.  By the time we got to the falls, my legs and backside were feeling it; and we really hadn't done any serious climbing.  I was not happy.

My son continued on, crossing the stream, going up to the top of the fall (which I wouldn't dream of trying to navigate, even when the path is clear and dry).  He continued to hike and I made my way back to the Lodge.  And I was slow.  The hiking boots that I purchase from LL Bean have never been quite right for me.  I've worn them twice and they bruised my ankles and the lower part of my leg (above the shins.)  I've worn them twice and I think that I should have gone for hiking shoes and not boots.  (I may do that in the future; do any of my more active walking/hiking friends have any thoughts?)  It took me a LONG time to get back.  I had to stop a couple of times.  (And not just to take photos...which I always do.)  I was glad to get back and take off those boots and just let my poor feet and legs "be."  

So what do I do about this?  Aging is part of life.  I have seen the issues that my parents and relatives have faced.  (I'll admit that I fear mobility issues will pop up down the road and if there is anything I can do to avoid that, I'm willing to try.)  I AM going for a physical in January. (I'd say annual, but I never had one this year because by the time I was able to get around to making a call in November there was no availability until 2024!  But that's another issue.)  I'll be sure to bring up all the issues that I've faced over the last year, including this wave of depression that comes over me at the strangest times.  (How could they not come with the year that I have.)  I'll listen to what she has to say and TRY to make 2024 a healthier year.

In the meantime, those of you who are feeling the aging process, feel free to share your challenges, your thoughts and your remedies.  While we are all on different paths, we are headed on a similar road.  So share your road map and tales of caution!  I am all ears.