So our geriatric internist sent us blood pressure cuffs and electronic devices that will record our daily blood pressure and send results electronically to our doctor for monitoring. During set up, the machine talks to you like she thinks she is Alexa. So now, we have added b p cuffs – one for each of us, and the electronic computer that monitors and sends the info onto doc, along with the grab bar poles, and the lift assist, and the walker, and the three canes, and the dry mouth lozenges, that now decorate our living room/dining room. It’s beginning to look very geriatric every single day. It’s beginning to look very geriatric every way I turn…
in retirement
It’s beginning to look geriatric, every where you turn…
Yes, we are getting geriatric altogether, me, my husband, and our house. We just installed a floor-to-ceiling pole. Not for me to dance on, although one day if I get dementia, I just may. It’s so that my husband can grab onto it in order to get in and out of bed. He is suffering, according to the doctors, from the condition called “deconditioning,” which means his muscles are weak.
When we looked at recliners, we skipped over the ones that catapult you across the room. Sure, it would be easier for my husband but the goal is to strengthen, not weaken the already weakened muscles.
We just ordered a lift assist, a device that is supposed to help me help my husband to lift himself when he gets stuck in a chair.
My husband’s occupational therapist comes up with all these gadgets and devices, devices that make me realize that he is not the only one who needs assistance, that he is not the only one aging.
My pillbox that now occupies our dining room table reminds me that he is not aging alone and all these devices that now reside in my house, are a constant reminder that we are getting old altogether.
EXERCISE is the determining factor
Did I mention that in addition to dieting, the dietician stressed how important exercise is. In fact, the two weeks that we reduced our exercise to a bare minimum, my husband and I gained three pounds. We cannot afford that. So just hoping to lose three pounds, and eating healthy is just not enough. So, we are back to the gym, exercising 30-45 minutes at least five times a week.
Who can do this when they are working full time?
WE ALL HAVE OUR ESCAPE VALVES
When I was working, we would look at real estate every place we vacationed. Now I realize that we were just trying to prolong the vacation by pretending to make it last forever. I can no longer pretend anything anymore. I will never be rich. The way the stock market plummeted, I may never be able to eat. But, I still have my escape valve.
Mine is having the 3 s’s: A soup, salad, and smoothie stand. I do not like cooking per se. But I really enjoy making soups and salads and I especially love making smoothies. I start my day with a smoothie. I use the Vega Protein Shake as its base. Today, in honor of my fall birthday, we invented a new flavor- Sweet Potato. Instead of making the flavor base a banana, we added a peeled roasted sweet potato. We added plenty of cinnamon, almond milk, non fat plain Greek Yogurt, and blueberries. It tasted like pumpkin pie. It tasted healthy. It tasted rich and it filled us up.
To Health!
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN MY PRESENTATION. I JUST GOT ANOTHER BOOKING!
This charming lady helped me get another booking. I will be presenting RAGING AGAINST AGING at Atria Senior Living in Roslyn Harbor. It will be an interactive discussion about the 5 major concerns we all face as we age. I hope this crowd will Age, Rage, Laugh, Cry, Stretch & Kvetch with me! A shout out thank you to Emily Willens of the Great Neck Atria!
WILL I BECOME THIS ECCENTRIC OLD LADY? WILL I BE HER, OR SHE, ME?
This lady clearly loves flowers but her yard is slightly overgrown and there are odd pots strewn here and there. Her house is a little run down and I can relate. Once I got joy from doing the gardening and my daughter even bought me special garden knee pads to help me with my work. But my knees now hurt and I am afraid that if I go down on them, I may never get up. Besides, I can only do a certain amount in the day, and writing and doing art has replaced my love of gardening. I can see letting the house go a little at a time because that is how aging happens, a little at a time. And at this point in my life, I became Cindi Lauper: I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN!
Nonetheless, I am very fond of this lady and her house and her garden and perhaps I will get a dog!
IT ALL STARTED HERE ON WORDPRESS WITH ONE LITTLE BLOG!
THANK YOU TO MY BLOG MASTER FOR PUTTING ME ON WORDPRESS. I blogged a little blog. A few people read it. I blogged again – another little blog. People visited and viewed it. I found I had an outlet to my voice. I blogged again and again. All little blogs. Now I have a book. It is available for circulation in my local library. One of my clients ordered a book and donated it to her local library.
“My father would be so proud,” my mother would tell me. He revered books. My mother revered crafts. As you can see, I had no shot at being a big business person from the very beginning! But, I have already been on one podcast, one radio talk show, am scheduled to do a book talk, am scheduled to be on a local public access t v interview show, and will be on a podcast radio show -that operates out of Durham, NC. And my book just debuted Oct. 6th! “Not too shabby,” my friend would say.
If YOU WANT TO BUY A COPY FOR YOUR LIBRARY, THAT WOULD BE A FABULOUS CHANUKAH GIFT TO ME AND TO OTHERS WHO ARE AGING. AND 18% of the proceeds goes to Memorial Sloan Kettering – if not for our sakes, then for the sake of our children.
p.s. I AM FIVE FULL CHAPTERS INTO MY NEXT BOOK!
MY CARDIOLOGIST is reading my book and she called me to tell me she LOVES the way I write about my relationships!
My doctor is into the arts. Of course she is. She was raised in Europe and she thrives on culture – the kind of culture we, here, do not often appreciate. Because we are a society that appreciates what exactly? Thrills? Distractions? Never mind, if you want a doctor who cares about your heart – not just the physical heart – but the emotional one, too, CALL me and I will share my contact information!!!!
ANOTHER FABULOUS REVIEW!!!
AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON.COM OR AMAZON PRIME!!!!!!!
http://www.amazon.com Search for Raging Against Aging.
randomthoughtsfromthe60s 