There was a time when I could knock out a blog post in around twenty minutes. It wasn’t necessarily profound, but it was 250 words and it did have some sort of structure. It seems to take longer these days, but everything does, doesn’t it?
A Bear in a Tree
Even getting a tie on is a bit of a performance these days, as I recently found out when I attended both a wedding and a funeral in recent weeks. I hadn’t worn a tie for years. Like riding a bicycle, the basics do not desert you. At least, I believe they don’t. I’ve not checked to see if I’ve forgotten to ride a bike, I’m just assuming you never forget because everybody says so. If I ever find myself on a bike again, I will report back.
The knotting bit is fine. In fact it seemed easier than it used to be. It was the folding down of the collar that proved tricky. My shoulders are not what they used to be and after putting my collar up and tying the tie, I seem to lose the ability to use my arms in a raised position, a combination of stiff joints and tiredness. Yes. my shoulders get tired after a couple of minutes of tying a tie. They keep that one as a surprise. You never think of shoulders wearing out until you start using sticks. It is very frustrating, and one of those things nobody tells you about getting old.
Hair loss yes, grumbling, yes, aches and pains and a vague feeling that things used to be better, yes. But the inability to hold your arms up to put a tie on? When did that happen?
Paddington Bear at St Paul’s
Talking of which, I got stuck trying to put my trousers on last week. I know that socks and trousers get steadily less easy, and am resigned to sitting on the bed to attend to such things, but I didn’t realise that they actually started to actively resist as you got older. The second one seems to be worse. I can usually get one leg in without too much problem, but the second always seems to be at a more difficult angle. Maybe it’s the design of modern trousers, or the Russians/Chinese (they always seemed to get the blame in the 60s, and that seems to be coming back). Maybe it’s just the design of my legs. But it’s definitely a problem of old age that nobody warned me about.
I could write an entire series about this, but I won’t. My older readers already know all about it, and my younger readers won’t believe me.
Time to go to the doctor now. I’m on weekly visits at the moment with one thing and another. It’s nice to be looked after, but it does tend to mess the day up. At least I won’t have to worry about the clutch now. However, I have no doubt another worry is just around the corner.
Straw Bale Bowie Bear
Yes, pictures are of bears again.