Getting Older

[Butterbun]

I lost a good friend last week. Yes, it was a shock. She kept her figure slim, ate healthily (no red meat) drinking only on social occasions, went to the gym regularly and really looked after herself. The suddenly, a stroke and she was gone. She was six months younger than me. I will miss her, her sense of humour and her laughter.

It makes you think about getting older and the changes you have to make. Giving up high heels and wearing lower ones or flat shoes, three-quarter length sleeves to cover the arms and elbows, higher necklines, longer skirts, no tight jeans. Also the clothes in the wardrobe seem to suddenly shrink, and as for make-up, forget the green I used to love, only browns now.

I dread the day I get arthritic fingers. I find it hard enough now to squeeze a bottle while unscrewing the top to get it open. At times I have to use a magnifying glass to read small prints. If anyone warns you what getting old is really like, would you have believed it? Maybe not, you have to experience it I suppose before you realise how different it is.
Meantime, I shall take just one day at a time and hope I can still recognise myself in the mirror in the future.

[emmie]

without being rude, it sucks.

[RATTER15]

To be honest whilst at 56 Im not really seeing too many signs of getting "older" but they are there.

I really don't think about it let alone worry about it, maybe that will change in the future.

[Sqad]

You can follow all medical advice.....diet, exercise, non smoking and drink only in moderation, but the bottom line is that there are no guarantees for longevity ............it is almost all in the genes.

There are no pluses or advantages in getting old.........

[ladybirder]

Oh it will RATTER, it will. Wait until you hit say 70, or 75. That's when it starts to really hit home.

[marval]

Well I am 62 and seem to notice a few things. It is mostly stiffness with my rheumatoid arthritis. I shall just try and keep things at bay.

[boxtops]

I've noticed a few things - notably the ability to sleep anywhere and everywhere. I can't say I've changed my wardrobe though! I do find screw tops more difficult to open, and I seem to be finding high shelves more difficult to reach .... :-)

[nungate]

I've had arthritis in my hands since my late thirties (now in my fifties) you are right it is no fun! My hands are in such a state that I cannot hold a book, magazine or newspaper, they have to be flat on a table, and just don't even mention fastening underwear!!! On the plus side, ........... actually there is no plus side!!!!

[ladybirder]

But would any of us want the alternative, i.e. "curtains"?

[emmie]

without wishing to sound bad, sometimes, the pain can be unbearable.

[woofgang]

Aged 60, I've changed my wardrobe....I now wear bright tops, tight jeans and whatever else I fancy. I have never worn high heels or makeup. I please myself about what I do and what I eat. I drink less alcohol but can afford much better quality :-)
Yes there are aches and pains. I have seen people much worse off that me at a younger age so i just enjoy every day as it comes along.

[giveup]

I'd like to go down fighting. The spirit is still willing, but at times the flesh is weak.

[EcclesCake]

I can sympathise with the first paragraph but the subsequent ones saddened me more.

[Butterbun]

I think sqad is right, it's all probably in the genes. woofgang, I admire your courage, but Eccles cake, why are you saddened? I seem to have done a somersault, and is forced to look at life from another angle. A sor of heaviness has descended on me.

[Butterbun]

^^sort of heaviness^^

[woofgang]

butterbun why do you have to give up the clothes and makeup that you love? I think that's what eccles meant....most of the changes you mention you don't HAVE to make.

[boxtops]

I don't understand why you have to give up wearing jeans or short sleeves - I wear bright colours all the time, far more so than in my younger days. I don't give a damn these days, that's one thing being older has brought me. If I like it and it suits me, I'll wear it!

[woofgang]

indeed boxy, me to....and the judge of whether it suits me is ME!

[whiskeryron]

A warning for all women
You've heard about people who have been abducted and had their kidneys removed by black-market organ thieves.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs. It was just that quick. The replacements had the texture of cooked oatmeal.

Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine ? I spent the entire summer looking for my thighs. Finally, hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans. And then the thieves struck again.

My bottom was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear-end to the thighs they had stuck me with earlier. But my new bottom was attached at least three inches lower than my original.
I realized I'd have to give up my jeans in favor of long skirts.

Two years ago I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and was horrified to see the flesh of my upper arm swing to and fro with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary-my body was being replaced one section at a time. What could they do to me next ?

When my poor neck suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a turkey neck, I decided to tell my story. Women of the world, wake up and smell the coffee.

Those "plastic" surgeons are using real replacement body parts-stolen from you and me !! The next time someone you know has something "lifted," look again-was it lifted from you?

THIS IS NOT A HOAX. This is happening to women everywhere every night.

WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

P.S. Last year I thought some one had stolen my boobs. I was lying in bed and they were gone !! But when I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept. Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.

WR.

[emmie]

things are giving me up, instead of the other way around, however i don't care about the clothes aspect, i generally wear what's comfortable and i like,

[EcclesCake]

Your post almost sounds like you've given up on enjoying what you have.

There is no reason to give up the things you've mentioned.