Old Age

A couple days ago I woke in the night tossing and turning and thinking about things. After half an hour of restlessness I decided to move downstairs and sleep in my recliner. I like the recliner for two reasons. First it is cooler than our bedroom and second my little dog likes to sleep with me and he helps me get back to sleep almost immediately.

I have an old Army wool blanket (with a few moth-eaten spots) that I pull up, Kuro hops up and snuggles in, I pull a beanie down over my eyes and before I know it I'm back in dreamland. Much better than the over-warm bedroom upstairs.

But, back to the subject. After the tossing and turning I got up, put on some clothes and while pulling on a sock while standing on one leg I realized I was a little tipsy and not from alcohol. I realized I just don't have the balance I once had and it hit me that I was getting older. Note I didn't say I'm getting old. Still have a while before that time kicks in, but I'm getting older.

Yes, Balance isn't as good as it used to be and memory isn't as good as it used to be. Well, my memory was always a little spacey, as the young people say but in the not too distant past I never had to stop on the landing while going to the basement and think to myself, "Now what is it that I'm headed downstairs to get?"

The landing is a good spot to do this because it's not all the way downstairs so I don't end up looking around blankly wondering, "What was it? Laundry room? Freezer? Dog food? Or maybe something from the back store room? Stew pot or pressure cooker, or?" It's embarrassing to get all the way downstairs and have to retrace my steps back up to the kitchen with the hope the elusive goal will come back. No, better to stop on the landing and try to refresh my mind.

A friend sent me a link to Tom Rush's takeoff on this subject. It's a classic you can copy and paste:  https://youtu.be/tJh5o2ogeC8

So, yes, getting older. Not so long ago I wasn't bothered by such things but now I notice hairs erupting full grown on my ears. Left ear more so than right, But how does an ear-hair grow an inch in one night? And nose hair? I'm not even going there. As the Donald might say, "That's disgusting." But I trim one day and the next there's a new crop. Amazing, isn't it.

And night time trips to the bathroom. When I was younger I'd sleep through the night and hit the bathroom in the morning with a full bladder. Now, no, a trip or trips, depending on volume of water the night before. Sometimes I think I'll just wait and the urge will fade but no such luck, once the thought is there it doesn't go away, just gets stronger so I might as well get up and get it over with.

Well, I'll grant that I'm getting older. Not old yet, mind you, but getting older. Why just the other night as I was pulling on my socks in the middle of the night I found myself a little tipsy, and not from alcohol. Wait, I already covered that subject. Not old yet, though. Maybe when I reach eighty-five I can think about being old.

And that's another thing. We just celebrated Christmas and I swear it was only a couple months ago we were celebrating last Christmas. The time is going by faster and faster. Soon I'll meet myself coming back from the bathroom at midnight tomorrow night.

For a New Year's resolution I think I'll find a memory school to rejuvenate mine that's fading. Meanwhile I'm carrying a notepad. It might even help me on that stairway landing.