Slowing Down

My Mom’s life in her sixties was not easy.  The normal issues of getting older were made worse by diabetes and its side effects, which over ten years first cost her her sight, then her right foot and eventually her right leg below the knee.  She never made it to the age I am now.   She had every reason to be bitter but she wasn’t … she had remarkable spirit even through her last days in the hospital.   But her age and ailments did indeed slow her down and she had an assortment of colorful sayings to describe the experience.  I think perhaps her favorite was, The old gray mare ain’t what she used to be, which is, of course, a line from a 1800’s folk song.  It turns out according to Wikipedia, that the old gray mare also kicked on the wiffletree.  Mom never said that but she did say, I’m too pooped to pop. I wonder if she knew that phrase came from a Chuck Berry song that never made it to Hitsville? I didn’t. Then there was, My get up and go got up and went. I’ll be damned (also one of Mom’s favorite phrases) if that doesn’t come from a Pete Seeger song. Who knew Mom was into such an eclectic mix of music styles? I thought she liked just broadway and classical.

By now, you may be asking, Is there a point to this ramble, Older Eyes? There is. Several weeks ago, I somehow strained a muscle in my right hip. It probably happened as I was installing an overhead light fixture in the laundry room and the fixture slipped out of my hands, causing me to jump down off the ladder quickly to avoid a crash. It was a task any 41 year old could do and no 71 year old should, I guess. What a difference three decades make. I am walking around gingerly, sometimes with a cane and it is making me feel like The old bald stallion ain’t what HE used to be. But that’s not what I mean by the title of this post. What I’m discovering is how often I dash from task to task and place to place with my brain tagging along a few steps behind. In a two story house, it is indeed a nuisance when I rush upstairs to do something in my office, only to discover the paperwork I need is downstairs on the kitchen table. With my bum leg, it is more than a nuisance, it is a trek.

I am the kind of guy who likes to look for something to learn in every life experience. It keeps me sane (at least according to my own standards) when life isn’t proceeding as I’d decree if I were God. So, I am trying to use this period in which I must be Slowing Down my gait to accomodate my injured hip to start Slowing Down the way I traverse my day … keeping my mind where my feet are, if you will. Or, call it mindfulness on the move. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Explore posts in the same categories: feeling older

Tags: family, feeling older, humor, mindfulness, nostalgia, perspectives

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