NOW THAT I CAN--I FIND I CAN'T

I am not QUITE finished, with the subject of ending this decade next year.  As I was writing yesterday, it dawned on me all the things I put off yesterday--too busy, too poor, too stressed, too many too's to list them all.  We all come into this world procrastinators or so it seems.  I don't know a single person who did not say, "Some day" in their earlier years.  You do know the road that is paved by good intentions?





A GREAT example is sleep!  I spent most of my life being sleep deprived.  From those exhausting teen years on, I NEVER got enough sleep.  My mother was NOT one to allow extended stays in the bed.  If she got up and went to work, we all got up.  Then along came my first child when I was 19.  We ALL know you can kiss sleep goodbye once you have children.  I was smart enough to have three children in three different decades.  That means MANY years of no sleep raising babies!  Add to child rearing trying to work and you have a sure fire recipe for exhaustion--constant-mind numbing exhaustion.  I spent a great deal of time day-dreaming about retirement and being able to sleep to my heart's content.  Sadly--now that I can---I find I can't sleep.  I have no problem going to sleep---it's staying asleep that is an issue.  I have tried various remedies and occasionally resort to one in desperation, but from 2:00 AM on--there is a good chance you will find me wide awake.  As for sleeping in--my brain is triggered by light---and with the first glimmer of light (and often the beginnings of daylight) the gun goes off and I am wide awake.  Trying to stay there and go back to sleep does not work--I am tossing and turning and in fear of flinging myself off the high bed and breaking my old neck.  



AND then there is traveling--taking long road trips--seeing the things I never had the time or money for.  Oh I have PLENTY of time to spare to travel these days and when you travel with a group it is very affordable.  The problem is my night vision is poor at best.  IF I am driving in the city limits (LOTS of street lights) and on well marked roads at slow speeds, I am good.  This makes me the hazard my own grandmother was in the small town I grew up in---she drove down the middle of the road at 25 MPH.  EVERYONE knew to move over when Mama James was on the road.  SO for some strange reason, they elect me to drive when we travel.  That is great as long as we are off the road at dusk.  No late night partying for this group!  Add to this the confusion and indecision of a group of women trying to plan a trip and you have organized chaos.  We are now in our 5th or 6th meeting for our next trip and still do not have plane tickets or places to stay--much less an itinerary.  Lots of indecision!




It's a miracle we ever get where we want to go!

For the sake of brevity (and to avoid boring you out of your mind), I will conclude with food.  Now that I have reached the age when I could eat anything and everything--(for after all who cares if an old lady is fat), I can't make a decision about what I want to eat most of the time.  Having always dealt with food indecision, this is no new issue. BUT you remember my therapist friend's words---our crazies get crazier! Not only can I not decide upon where I would like to go out and eat (honestly--I DON'T CARE), but once I get the menu, I can't make a decision about what I want to eat.  After choosing some random entree, I ALWAYS have food envy when I look on the plates of my fellow diners (well most of the time---who would EVER want liver!).  Whatever everyone else orders, always looks better than my choice.  And IF, I happen to think I will just order what they are having, it is always a huge disappointment.  Add that to the fact that all that junk food I so loved most of my life, no longer rings my chime and there you have it- a sad state of affairs.  Now that I can eat anything and everything---I find I can't find the stomach or desire to do so.

SO the morale of this story--DO IT NOW---BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!  Tomorrow may never come and even if you can--you may find you can't!

HMMM!--Have I exhausted the subject?  If I even have a glimmer of an idea of anything else to write, I had better hurry before I find I can't remember the great topic I thought of for tomorrow.  TOO LATE--it's already flown the coop!


My flesh and my heart may fail,
 but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalms 73:26

5 comments

  1. Yes ... I agree ... getting old may have its drawbacks. But also look at the advantages. One can be cantankerous and rude and people would say one is eccentric. One can stand at the edge of the side-walk pretending to want to cross the road, and when you are helped across by a nice person, you tell them now you want to go back where you came from. You can confuse people by going to the baker and asking to buy a wasp. When he tells you he doesn't sell wasps. You reply "You have one in your shop window". And for some real fun ... you can invite your friends for a meal to a particular restaurant and then you turn up at another one completely different. You can always blame the misunderstanding on old age.

    And for the real top class winner: My old friend Ernest.

    He had to go to hospital for observation. The nurse, in her late fifties, was a bit patronising and condescending. She always talked using the "we" pronoun: "And how are we feeling this morning? Have we slept well last night? It is time to check our temperature. Shall we have a bed bath now?" And so on ... He got fed up with this attitude towards his old age, being spoken to as a child, even though he actually was a child many years ago. So he decided on revenge.

    As usual, last thing in the evening, the nurse gave him a clean sterilised bottle and said: "We need to give a urine sample first thing in the morning. I'll collect it then".

    The next morning he poured apple juice in the bottle. When she came to collect it she said: "My ... we are a little cloudy today aren't we?"

    He took the bottle from her, looked at it and said, "Let us filter it some more" and drank the whole content.

    She nearly fainted.

    It's great to be old ... eccentric or what?

    God bless.

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    1. OH, YES! It is truly wonderful to have an excuse for all my weird behavior, Victor! Thank you for my first laugh of the day!
      Blessings, My Friend!

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  2. Or in my case, be eligible for AARP...since when did 50 become the new norm? smiles---another great post, Lulu and still giggling over Victor.

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    1. They want your money, Linda AND they lean FAR to the left! NOT that that stops me from joining- HEY you get discounts many places for being a member!!LOL! Now you know where my loyalties lie- with anyplace I can get a discount🙄
      Blessings, My Friend!!

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  3. Absolutely, Loralu! Too many times we put off until later what we should be doing now, only to find out we can't do that activity to the fullest. Getting older is not for sissies, that's for sure! And I can so identify with driving in dim light/darkness. I need to have my cataracts removed - yet another thing I've put off for too long. Hopefully that will happen in February. One can only pretend to see for so long. LOL!
    Blessings!

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!