Beware when the ‘old people’ bag of ailments lands on your doorstep

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And it will, eventually, for all of us.  That’s right, I’m talking about arthritis, rheumatism, hearing impairment, the need for glasses, hip and knee replacements, shoulder surgery, and any number of other things when body parts start to wear out.

Of course, these are only annoyances and could be the big stuff like heart disease, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, cancer, strokes, COPD, and Alzheimer’s.  I guess we can say we’re fortunate if we can stay off this large list.

It’s sad to have to think about all this.  Once we’re older and wiser, look what we all have to look forward to.  That doesn’t seem fair, does it?  Then, life isn’t always fair.  I guess we’re all doing good to keep our wits and mobility until the end.

I had to go and get glasses last week and that got me to thinking about all this other stuff that may be coming down the road.  I already have the arthritis and hearing impairment and now some silly glasses they say I need.  I can’t get used to them at all.  It seems like stepping into a cuckoo world to put them on and I’m actually thankful to take them off again at night.  They make me dizzy and believe me; I don’t need any help with that.

The lady who fitted them tells me I’ll get used to them in time.  Some of my friends who have the transitional lenses tell me the same thing.  Everyone’s ready to throw them out the window during the first month or two.  I’m hoping they’re all right.  I don’t want to be so wobbly, bumping into walls and holding onto the stair rail to get up and down the stairs.  When I uncovered my plants temporarily to water them, I about fell on my face on the patio.  I don’t dare get behind the wheel of my car yet.  Right now, I’m wondering if I really need these glasses all the time.  I’m tempted to go back to my readers.

All this has me speculating what else is coming my way.

All you young people out there take care of your bodies.  I know you can’t avoid all this stuff because of heredity, but you might be able to make some things better on yourself as you reach old age.  Of course, in my case, most of the stuff that’s landed on me so far couldn’t have been avoided, had I not partied my life away in my earlier years.

Ultimately, everyone needs to decide what’s best for them and then prepare yourself to live by the consequences that lifestyle creates years from now.  You can think first though and perhaps avoid doing some stupid things that’ll have an impact on your health later.  I’ve done my share of stupid things, mostly because of being in a rush and not slowing down.  I try to be more careful now than I was twenty years ago.

We should all slow down and not be in such a hurry as we go through life, stopping for a moment to enjoy all the beautiful things around us.  I try to remember this and practice it by sitting on my patio and enjoying nature when it’s warm enough to do so.  But if you’re a person like me, there’s never enough hours in each day and always one more novel to read or write before times up.

Enjoy the Super Bowl all you sports lovers, and happy Groundhog Day, or Candlemas, whichever you celebrate.  Of course, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow again, predicting six more weeks of winter.  Now is this any surprise?  Quite a few people actually wear top hats and tuxedos for the annual event at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania.  Even though this groundhog is only right 39 percent of the time, it never deters the event that started in 1887.

The first day of spring is March 20, so we have six and a half weeks to go anyway.  Maybe that’s why he sees his shadow more then he doesn’t and is scared back into his hidey-hole.

I know things took a turn back to the cold side here starting last Saturday when we had rain and then hail.  It never got over forty.  Nightly temperatures are now down in the low twenties again for the near future.  We have snow in the mountains all around us once more, but at least it’s up there and not down here.  That’s one blessing.  I knew we’d pay for the nice January we had.