Older Bodies

My sixties have brought not only Older Eyes, but an Older Body.   Older Bodies ache more, break more easily and take longer to heal.   They require more care and more maintenance.  Routine medical tests that were once required every ten years are recommended every three years, more frequently if family history or existing conditions dictate.  And with each passing year, the routine tests seem less routine.  Wednesday morning at 8:00 am, I’m scheduled for a routine colonoscopy, as if anything regarding a miniature garden hose and a human body can be called routine.  Today is my prep day, liquids only starting at midnight and several industrial sized doses of industrial strength laxatives in the afternoon and evening.

The prep day is actually worse that the colonoscopy itself because the procedure is done under a twilight anesthetic.   Wednesday morning, the nurse will insert an IV in my arm and shortly after the gastroenterologist makes his appearance, I’ll be lights out.   I’ll wake up in the car wondering, Where am I? … How did I get here? … and Who am I? … questions my wife will tire of answering.   Three and a half years ago after the same procedure our route home carried us past a Dairy Queen.  Realizing I hadn’t eaten anything for over 24 hours, I asked, Can I have a Dairy Queen?   Muri had errands to run, so she said, No, we don’t have time.  I’ll get you something later.  Now, I don’t remember this but she swears that I whined and sulked like a six year old until she turned around and bought me one.   I do remember making love to a large vanilla cone.  I’ve already put in my request for one on Wednesday.

Older Bodies don’t just ache, break and take longer to heal …  they change shape, wrinkle, discolor and sag.   You can exercise regularly, eat carefully (organic anyone?  vegan?) and use supplements and creams until the cows come in … it will slow the process but when you look in the mirror, you’ll know.  You’ve got an Older Body.  And if your mirror doesn’t tell you, your grandkids will.   As we were getting ready to go swimming over the weekend, my two year old granddaughter, Savy, patted my stomach though my USC T-shirt, then lifted it up to take a look.  You have fat tummy, Papa, she said.  Yes, I do, I admitted.  There was no point in explaining that I was working on losing weight with WeightWatchers … she’d already moved on to something else.  Twenty minutes later, as I was lounging on the edge of the pool in my bathing suit, she pointed at my chest with wide-eyes and said, What’s that?   While tried to figure out where she was pointing, my wife said, You mean his belly-button?   Savy stepped closer.  Not his belly-button, she said.  That!   That was my left nipple, something she’d apparently never noticed on her father.   You mean his boobie, my wife said, trying to help.  Savy looked at my wife’s chest, then back at me.   Now, I have no idea why we insist on giving silly names to human body parts but I was not about to debate whether I had boobies with my granddaughter, especially when my once well-formed swimmer’s pectorals left some doubt.   You have them, too, I said.   I do not, she said indignantly, feeling the front of her T-shirt then lifting it up to show me while my wife giggled behind her.   There was going to be no convincing her.  Fortunately, Maddux squirted her with a water gun and she ran to my wife to complain, forgetting about my faux boobies.

So, it’s Tuesday.  Top Sites Tuesday #103 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday.   Here’s what I’m thinking:  Since having an Older Body is inevitable, we might as well accept what we’re given and make the best of it.   That means (1) taking care of ourselves, not just cosmetically but by having regular checkups for those maladies most likely to affect Older Bodies; and (2) learning to laugh about what’s happening to us all instead of worrying about trying to look younger.   Self-acceptance works wonders.   Whether you have a Younger Body or an Older Body, if you enjoyed this post, please push my button … gently … to make me Number One on Top Sites Tuesday #103.

Come Join Top Sites Tuesday and be #1 on BlogDumps!
The purpose of this Meme is to encourage
Networking between bloggers to have fun while doing it!
Make sure to visit all the other participants and leave comments.

Explore posts in the same categories: feeling older

Tags: aging, curmudgeonly rants, feeling older, grandchildren, humor, memes, postaday2011, senior health, Top Sites Tuesday

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.