Leaving 75 In The Dust

It suddenly dawned on me the other day that I am 75 years old and soon to turn the big 76.  Yikes!  How did that happen so quickly?

This is how I look at it.  There are perks. 

For one thing, I no longer need an excuse to stay off a ladder or not to carry heavy stuff.  And... I can love my new walking stick for rough terrain or even walking around the house if I feel like it. 

Further...  I can go to bed any time I want and not have to explain myself to anyone.   I could pretend not to hear things sometimes and get away with it.  Would I really do that?  I know that some people do. 

I love that I fit in with the white-haired crowd easily and therefore readily find people who laugh at the same things I do. Kindred spirits. These people also "get" my references to things.  They know, for example who Liberace was and understand that the sometimes glamourized hippies smelled bad. They remember things like Keds and when a sheet of bubble gum came with a baseball card. The women remember what it was like, as little girls,, to tuck their dresses into snow pants before walking to school.  Oh -- so many things to think about.

Another huge bonus in my case are adult children and close to adult grandchildren. They are totally capable of living their own lives and of making their own decisions.  The pressure is off.  I am in the relax mode.  Perfect.  If either do come to me describing a complicated situation that necessitates serious decision making, I am now where I can listen with care and ask them to let me know how it all turns out. Heaven!

I also like that I don't have to drive at night if I don't feel like it. I like that decisions to not do things are now socially acceptable. It takes the pressure off. Like I said ... perks.

So ... I suppose I should mention ... there are the aches and pains of aging as well as other assorted limitations. We all have our own bag of rocks (as my mom used to say).  I guess we find our way through somehow -- one way or the other... the best way we can.  Hopefully there is not a lot of complaining going on.  Personally, I have little tolerance for excessive "woe is me"... in myself or in others.  It takes up too much time.  I try not to do the woe thing and I only listen to it for what I consider enough time to be polite.  Dwelling on woe is a Big Bummer and subversive really. It's not good for anyone.

They way I look at it ...  we all know that not everyone makes it this far.  I personally feel that I should take advantage of the gift and try not to waste it or to take it for granted.  I will soon be over half way through the septuagenarian years.  Three quarters of a century has come and gone. Oh my....  

Wish I could remember how to nap. I so want to stay awake for 4th of July fireworks.  Happy Independence Day!  We are almost there.

Derp

 I am a septuagenarian (over half way through that decade now), and I know how to do a lot of things.  I cook, clean, drive, write, read, mend, crochet, knit, do some lawn chores, saw small branches and ... fight with technology and keeping up with things.  All in all - I think I do a pretty fair job of it.   So... needless to say when I found it difficult to figure out how to plug and unplug the extension cord that I was using for my Christmas tree, I was flummoxed and somewhat appalled really. The things we do for holidays.

The thing is, I had complicated the situation by thinking that the only place for it to plug into was a power bar on the floor under my desk.  The choice of location was the issue - or at least that is what I tell myself. 

Getting the extension cord to reach that spot was no problem.  Neither was getting to the floor.  It was the reaching the power bar that was the main problem and I immediately regretted my initial decision when I realized that I am not nearly as limber as I had thought.  I mean I knew the getting back up might be a challenge, but I had not anticipated the under the desk floor maneuvering would be so difficult.  I am just thankful that no one was there to make a video of the process.

Anyway -- I managed to move the foot massager that has a permanent home under my desk with no problem and then dragged myself closer to the power bar only to find that every plug had to be moved to make room for the extension cord thingy. I mean try to do that when you are holding yourself up on your elbows and bumping your head on the underside of a desk. Plus it is difficult to see what you are doing! After much struggle and coming to the conclusion that not all plugs fit right, I realized that I would have to do this process again every Christmas season.  No  -- not going to do that ... so I reversed the process only to discover/remember that the chair I was counting on to help me get back up swivels -- freely and easily because of the WD 40 "thing".  I know. right? 

I made it eventually and as I sat in that chair sweating and wondering if I had pulled every single muscle in my body, I rethought the whole idea and wished I had run through the whole process in my head before I even began.  I am too old for this foolishness. I do find it sort of amusing though and realize that I may/probably, in fact, do the same thing again. It's not too hard to laugh at myself. Further -- I don't think I am alone in this sort of thing.  I also find that possibility amusing and sort of nice really.  It's a special club.     Derp!

Oompa Loompas, Selfies, and Eco-terrorists...

 

It seems to me that as far back as Socrates, we have a written record of the elder generations being critical of the younger ones.  Perhaps it is a side effect of age? Now that I am a septuagenarian, I am a member of this latest elder generation and I really think that I am less ornery and cantankerous than many of this group… although I do mute annoying commercials without guilt and in a rather short-tempered manner.  The thing is – I am thankful to have reached this point. Many friends and family did not. Further -- I find that …most often… I actually enjoy that the generation after me is in charge and get to make all those scary and difficult decisions.  We septuagenarians have done our time there. It’s their turn now. (Ah... remember the days when we thought our parents knew everything? Ah... the blessed ignorance of youth.)

In looking back though – at the same time as trying to keep up to date on the ways of today’s world - there are things that I find amusing in sort of a peculiar way.  Take today’s eco-terrorists for example.   They look surprisingly like many of the great American unwashed hippies of the 60s… same dirty, stringy hair, unruly beards, and frowny and sometimes self-righteous faces.  Sometimes there is even a similar tendency to move toward general irresponsibility and destruction of others’ property as their wishes take priority over everything. A major difference is the lack of Peace and Flower Power signs. I am thinking that they smell the same.

I also must admit that I find cell phone and selfie addiction to be amusing in a twisted way.  Perhaps it is because I, personally, shy away from photos.  It’s bad enough to see myself in the mirror in the morning and wonder who is looking back at me. I haven't changed my profile picture on Facebook in years. That speaks for itself.

I listen to members of two younger generations talk of concerns, of work and school and wonder if they could understand my world of yore. I think back to my Dad telling me about his younger days and wonder if I understand his.  I am not sure I ever thought a whole lot about the life my parents had before I arrived.  There were stories- highlights really, but not the day to day details... at least not enough to piece things together into a complete picture.

I find today's world to be nuts a lot of the time. One thing I know for sure though is that ... I have never ever wondered about the gender of the Oompa Loompas. In fact, I have serious concerns about those who do and about those who find it necessary to declare Oompa Loompas to be gender neutral. Who are these people who want to change the words of others or to ban books? Talk about the height of hubris and "know-it-allness". More fundamentally -- who are these people who think that the Oompa Loompas are real and would therefore be sensitive to such things? It's concerning. Rampant Ridiculosity is alive and well.  Personally I feel like just stepping over it, and moving along my way.  I have more important things to think about. As each day goes by, I am more and more sick of weirdos, no matter their chosen pronouns, trying to push their agendas in my face and down my throat. I am losing patience with all of it. You live your life; I will live mine. Personally... it would be nice to live in a less nutty world.  I am thinking that a lot of elder generations have thought that. They got by. Maybe I am more of a crabby old fuddy-duddy than I would like to acknowledge after all.

There is a lot I don’t understand, but I get by.

Out of step? Maybe.  Don’t care. (I know I am in good company. Go Boomers!)