So, this is me—flat on my back on the snow-covered driveway not long ago. Slipped on the snow, boom—down for the count. As I lay there laughing (the snow padded the fall well), Rory took my picture. He then texted this to our four adult children—none of whom found it funny. Their first reaction was “why was he taking a picture instead of taking care of me?” Overall, a blow to my self-esteem more than my body. However, it did get me thinking about the pitfalls and truths of the aging process, so here are five realities I am learning about being an aging baby boomer.
Falling Happens
Last year, I fell on the sidewalk during a parade while visiting my daughter and granddaughter. As you can see, I fell in the snow a month or so ago. Just the other day, I fell on the back deck while playing with our dog.
I haven’t sustained any broken bones or serious injuries from these falls (knock on wood!)—yet. I am personally acquainted with people about 10-15 years older than me who have sustained broken arms, hips and wrists, so I am always worried about it, though.
Honestly, I never feel dizzy when I fall—I just fall! I do know it hurts a lot! I seem to have lost my ability to catch myself and stay upright when I trip. I am suddenly falling and unable to keep my balance or even try to land softly.
The causes can be myriad why we seem to fall more as we age, but my arthritis and its medications; old bone damage from a long-ago accident; dehydration (I drink too much coffee and not enough H2O). Scratch that—there is no “too much coffee” in my world!
At any rate, the aging process brings with it many changes that can cause unsteadiness and lack of balance. The outcome for me is worried kids and a husband who is seriously talking about ordering the “help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up button”! Probably the only thing saving me from that fate is that I can get up and usually am just fine.
Disappearing Words & Thoughts
Wait, I forgot what I was going to write about here—oh yes, I remember. How many times have you forgotten the word you just had in your head? The movie title that won’t come to you, so you start describing the whole thing in hopes someone will know what you are talking about? I literally start playing charades but using words to help. So frustrating!
Then there is the purposeful walk from
one room to the next, accompanied by a sudden stop and a “what was I coming in here for?” thought. Particularly embarrassing when others are watching! I just tell myself that my brain is probably overloaded with so many years of processing and use. ?
Seriously, though, this is a natural part of the aging process. I know, we all worry about Alzheimer’s, but here is the test. If you forget the word for fork, that’s ok. If you forget what a fork is for—you’re in trouble. So far, I know how to use all the utensils on my table!
Needing Longer Arms
I was nearsighted most of my life, needing glasses to see the board at school, the movie at the theater or the signs and the road when I drove! Then about 18 years ago, I went in for laser surgery which cleared my long vision up immediately. Unfortunately, it also made it necessary for me to wear reading glasses to see anything at all close. Over the years, the strength of these has had to be increased. I may need to order my next pair online!
Most people will need reading glasses by the time they hit their 60’s. It’s a natural progression of age. This fashionable accessory can be worn in any number of ways. Many men wear them tucked into their breast pocket, while for women there are colorful chains to hold them around their neck. My own personal favorite is to keep them perched on the top of my head. I have even worn grooves on my scalp from years of glasses perched up there!
Age Appropriateness
I am so not ready for polyester pants and little sweatshirts with cute flowers and sayings on them. I have also never been a high fashion kind of girl— no cashmere and pearls for me. The last “heels” I wore were a really cool pair of platform sandals that I wore through most of the 70’ and into the 80’s. No kidding—these things were 4” high!
Jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, peasant shirts, boots—you get the picture–that’s my style. It was thrilling for me to open a Target ad last week to see that maxi dresses are in this Spring! Until I realized that I will look ridiculous in them. It’s so hard to give up the things of our youth which is why you see so many older women and men walking around in jeans these days. We Boomers don’t give up easily.
In a conversation one day last year with one of my clients who is close in age to me , this was the subject. I was complimenting her on the gorgeous peasant shirt she was wearing. We were both lamenting the fact that at our age, we may be pushing it with some outfits and how hard it is to walk that fine line. I am very jealous of those women who have the chutzpah to carry off go-go boots and miniskirts at 66. If you attend my church, you may yet see me in a maxi dress this spring!
Technology Challenged
Okay, I set up this website, my husband’s business website and our daughter’s Tattoo shop website BY MYSELF. I am not exactly a Luddite and I know my way around a computer pretty well. Here’s my best piece of advice for dealing with a recalcitrant computer—are you listening? —bend in real close:
Restart the computer
There you have it, lol! See, I even know a little bit of internet/texting slang. I own a smartphone and a tablet and I even have whole books stored on these items! (It’s easier to read a book on my tablet with my old eyes) Seriously, though, there is so much technology out there and it is changing so fast that I often feel like a dinosaur. So, I did a little research for us on the latest social media and here is a quick rundown:
- Facebook—if you don’t know what this is and aren’t on it, there is no hope for you. How else are you going to waste your whole day watching funny/sad/touching videos? Seriously, it’s a great way to keep in touch with family and friends.
- Pinterest—my own personal time sucker. Love this program. Pictures, articles, stuff for sale—all in a constant feed with the option to save those that interest you. Like a digital scrapbook, only better!
- Twitter—I will confess I have an account. I will also confess that I have never used it because it is very confusing for me—where did all my personal “friends” tweets go? How do I tweet and who cares what I must say in 140 characters or less?
- Reddit--Okay, I just went here and it looks to me like Twitter with pictures? Very unattractive…..
- Tumblr—looks like Pinterest with videos and articles—also not very attractive.
- Instagram—I know I have an Instagram account, because Facebook keeps showing me pictures from it, but I can’t seem to remember how to access it and how did those pictures get there anyway and aaarrrggghhh! This is one I really need to figure out for my blog site.
- LinkedIn—almost like having your resume online and active, with a chance to show yourself off and even blog. More business oriented than the others.
- Google+—Kind of a place to keep in touch with people—images, blogs, news—I really need to work on using this one more.
So, there you have it—a short course in trying to stay digitally relevant in this fast-changing world! So maybe your kids won’t laugh at you—which is not nice, Matthew! I would add that before you jump into any of these, research and make sure you understand them so there are no cases of embarrassment for you or your family. Hhmmmmmm….maybe I could get Matt back somehow. ? (by the way, that happy face is an emoticon—there are millions of them!)
The Upshot
These five facts of life for us baby boomers are not one size fits all. Plus, there are many others we have not touched on (don’t get me started about men who can’t hear and refuse to get hearing aids!) The truth is that we all age differently, but we do share one thing in common—we are children of the rock and roll generation and we are fighting this whole damn aging thing! Getting old is not for sissies.
Now, I’m going to go get my cane and enjoy what’s left of my amazing grace filled life!