It’s not all bad.
As things start to travel downhill, they pick up momentum.
Eyes that once read the London Underground map and the A-Z London Atlas with no difficulty began to deteriorate in my last decade of employment and my spectacles prescription changed every few years. Since retirement, I’ve needed new specs every time I have an eye test. For the last two eye tests, I realised I was in need of new specs before I had the reminder to book an appointment.
I’ve known I would suffer from arthritis for decades. My knee has given my gyp from time to time since my forties and my wrists and ankles tweak painfully until I can exercise them out of it. When visiting my husband in hospital after his second hip operation, my right hip hurt on my way from the car park. I put it down to sympathy pains.
Last December I started limping and I finally got confirmation x-rays that the hip is arthritic. Exercises have helped with the limping, but the arthritis isn’t going to go away…
I try to look on the bright side.
As a teenager I hated my combination skin, that would break out in spots and blackheads along its oily centre panel. As I got older, it dried out and even now, my skin is fairly good overall. (Shame about the wrinkles.)
Likewise, my once greasy hair now requires less washing, which in turn helps maintain whatever natural oils I still have.
In the sixties, when female curves were valued on the upper body (rather than on the lower rear, as today) mine were never curvaceous, even when breast-feeding my offspring. On the other hand, I was able to dispense with support under strappy tops in hot weather.
It was a source of regret to me as a young woman that I wasn’t thus well-endowed. Overweight; yes; voluptuous, no. Today, I am pleased that I have so little mammary flesh to sag. (Shame, though, about the arms and legs, especially since I lost weight.)
I no longer feel the need to use make-up on a daily basis, since nothing is going to effect much improvement to what’s underneath it. It is beyond rescue. In fact, make-up clogging the wrinkles can only emphasise them.
I can now rub my eyes if they itch, without trying to avoid mascara smears, and I spend less time at the bathroom mirror in the mornings. (Instead, I am on the bathroom floor, stretching and loosening hip, thigh and back muscles, ready for the morning dog walk and the day ahead.)
Looking on the bright side, I am still here, roughly a decade after both my gran and my dad died and heading for the age when my mum lost her mobility. When we took on our last dog as a puppy, I had to decide how long I planned to be around to outlive them and active enough to walk them.
So, I’m all set for the next twenty years at least. 🙂
(The best-laid plans…)
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Always look on the bright side…
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Did you have youthful hang-ups that no longer plague you?
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Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings 
The only thing I used to worry about from late teen on was my weight. And as many of us have discovered looking back, we had no need, according to height and weight charts now I was underweight! And a fraction of the size I am currently. I’ve only just decided to stop trying to lose weight. Sad really that so much of my life I was unhappy with how I looked due to that. It’s not just a modern thing. Well done you for being able to get on the floor to do exercises. And get up.
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I resisted it for some time, blaming the dogs, but the dogs have got used to me invading their territory.
I still have to take a breath and be determined some mornings, but I remind myself that the final floor exercises are actually a relief, relaxing leg and back muscles.
Getting up again… now that takes an effort and a support close by.
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Our generation does have any advantages. My mom is 83and still active and fairly healthy.
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My mother was much more active in her 80s than I have been for many years due to my ME. It was wonderful to see, if frustrating.
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We have to work with the hand we’re dealt. That doesn’t mean we have to give up.
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Very true, I have a habit of making myself ill by doing too much
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At least we have the advantage of time to get over it 🙂
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It’s partly the luck of the draw, I think, and the genes you’re given to work with. But since I was adopted back when you didn’t get to know about your birth family, I know nothing about my antecedents’ diseases. Maybe that’s a good thing? No point worrying until it gets me.
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here’s to another wonderful 20 years!
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🙂 for us all…
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It’s nice to see you embracing getting older and trying to see the positives. One thing I like about getting older is that I am a lot less insecure about my looks and no longer feel uncomfortable about my weight/features etc.
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True. One downside of losing weight recently 9the only downside) is that I have a lot of spare skin at the top of my arms which were already wobbly – and I like to wear sleeveless tops when it’s hot. I’vedecided if anyone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to look. my way.
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Yeah I mean all you can’t hide your body just because other people may not like it. You should definitely wear what you want and if someone has a problem that’s their problem not yours.
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Very Informative content on Arthritis Thank you for the article!
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Thank you for reading 🙂
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