Routines Change With Age, August 3, 2024 382 words

This past week, I felt old. I become tired and slow with conversations but this week was a reality check. During of all things, housework.
I use a Swifter to clean and dust the wood floors in my house. I can’t reach under furniture to clean to the backboards. I decided to clean the floors on hands and knees. I could crawl around with old socks, one on each hand, I had to lay on my side to reach to the wall behind furniture. I was surprised that the metal in my hip replacements hurt when I was on my side. Since both hips have titanium parts, I didn’t think about pain. I was feeling the rubbing of the replacement rubbing against the part of hip still there. I had to find some cushioning for that hip when laying on my side.
I mentioned this to my husband John. He confessed that the same day, he climbed into the crawl space to spray for carpenter ants. He also had pain in his knees while working. He had to go to find knee cushions while crawling under the house.
I scoffed when John installed metal handrails on both sides of the stairs. I thought it looked tacky. This is coming from a blind woman. But in the last months, I have relied on the railings more.
Recently, I purchased a titanium white cane with a ball end. It is able to roll from side to side without leaving the ground. It is better to give feedback on uneven ground. The cane is able to support me is I take a misstep.
Both John and I walk slower with smaller steps. We have given up riding the tandem bike . Neither of us can trust our balance.
Before you feel sorry for us, remember, we are still out walking and working around our yard. Aging doesn’t curtail our activities, just the way we do them.
As for the biking, we use the stationary bike until our balance improves. Learning to adapt is the best mental health medicine.

*** poem
My garden of hanging pots decorate the deck
The birds in the woods are listening
night visitors are seen on the security cameras
an occasional butterfly visits my hand
my memories fill in the rest
carolaspot@aol.com