I've been "body snachted"

[volshooter]

With summer here there are more chores to do. This morning I felt "inside looking out", a phrase from the 70"s when to much weed was smoked.
Looking in the mirror this morning I seen an old man, wrinkles, crows feet, lots of grey in the hair and beard as I took the Rx meds prescribed by my doctors. I felt stiffness and some sore spots from my chores of the last few days. I bruise/bleed easier than a few years ago. Things that took little time and effort a few years ago now require more time and rest stops. Things that I used to lift and throw over my shoulder are a lot harder to do, if I can do.
Last month my wife came home from clothes shopping. When I seen what she had bought I told her, "that stuff is for older folk" , "you are not old enough to wear that stuff". Wife said, "I am older". Yes I agreed but not that old, she is 2 years my junior.
This is what she said to me QUOTE, "I act my age, you still think your 30".
This morning I remembered what she said as I made effort to get into my truck. (used to jump in)
I have lived a good life, always working hard labor jobs, physical jobs. Today it dawned on me that someone had taken my hard working body and replaced it with a lesser/older model that cannot do the things my mind says it can do. I really want to blame someone but it might be age.
I cannot believe that in the past 5 years I went to 100% to ...well I'll get it done when/if I can. Dr.'s say I am 100% on track, but my body, replaced by perhaps the democrats, tells me "let someone younger do it, you have no business even trying" or "let us take care of you", I don't know.
I reckon some/most here are older than I am. Is there a time when you just have to listen to your body and slow down??? Sister Louise at church is 85 and still makes a garden and mows her own lawn!

Where is my body and who do I have to kill to get it back???

Last part of rant, I can still out work anyone I know my age, most of them are busted up with health problems. My neighbor is 4 years my junior and cannot function with out painkillers. I am not going that route. I do take meds for arthritis, knees, shoulders and hands...... still all factory no replacements, at my instance.

Did your body get gone?

 

[Sam Johnson]

Yes, Well put . I for sure feel what you are talking about . Those bumps and bruise take much longer to heal.

 

[bogus bill]

Don`t worry, it will get worse. In my case I never was a fireball so the changes aren't as noticeable. I always was big, fat and slow anyway. I am 74, bad knees and get out of wind . I used to be 6ft 2"s but have lost a couple inch`s with age. Lost my nose due to cancer. I was 3 spins on the scale but have dropped back to 280. I ride our rzr a lot and still fly some. My wife is almost 17 years younger than me and she does most of whatever gets done around here so I am lucky. This is us 11 years ago when we got married. I look better now.

 

[graygun]

Dang Bill,that's rough. Yes,I'm 65 and feel like crap compared to what seems like not so long ago. Lately my shoulders are aching and it does take longer to do things and so on. The mind is duller and short term memory suffers. Ageing sucks! :lol:

My brother is 68 and has significant problems: Parkinsons,diabetes,prostate cancer and has had a cancerous liver removed.

 

[bogus bill]

They dont take me out much anymore.

 

[Colonialgirl]

I'm 74 and my lower back is killing me; The VA promises that it'll get fixed June 30th. Dang can't change the oil in my car or do ANY of the Under the car repair work; Can't walk very far; What the hell happened?

 

[Precision32]

Yep, it takes all night to do what I used to do all night.

Ya know we're starting to sound like old farts!

 

[Fox Mike]

I just turned 78 and can tell you that the mind is still thinking 50 but the body is having a HARD time keeping up with the thinking. I notice that all the parts are still here but they seem to have been on vacation for a while. They just don't work like they used to. The 'let someone younger' idea is gaining more respect each day.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

This kinda reminds me of the guy that complained about good health because he lived so long. :wink:

 

[bogus bill]

I like the old saw, "If I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself." I think the biggest factor to old age is simply genetics. Luck of the draw. Maybe I am excusing my laziness but I have seen people far more active than me and high school athletes I was raised with die a long time ago. I dont worry much about it. I cant count how many times God sent his guardian angels to protect me from both medical and mechanical means of death.
I suppose everyone alive can say that. How about the oldest living vet, 109 years old, that was on the news memorial day. He says he smokes a bunch of cigars and drinks every day.
It cant be denied that medicine is keeping some of us alive but we all die. I retired January of 2,000. I was single and just short of 59 years old. I retired with the idea of taking off the summer and then going to truck driving school and seeing the country on someone` dime ang getting paid for it. So much for plans. Three months later almost half of my IRA got wiped out. In July a drunk T-boned me. I had a bump on my knee and didn't go to the doctor. A few months later I got hit with a pulmonary embolism from it. It almost and probably should have killed me. That stopped my truck driving idea. Also warfarin is keeping me alive. Maybe some small percentage of people can plan their lives and have it work but in my observations far more of us have events in our lives that change them all. That`s life.

 

[graygun]

We all complain,somewhat in jest,and hate to see death looming while deteriorating as we move to meet with it. God is above all this craziness and can save us for the next one where all pain and evil will have ceased.

 

[jack]

We all complain,somewhat in jest,and hate to see death looming while deteriorating as we move to meet with it. God is above all this craziness and can save us for the next one where all pain and evil will have ceased.

I'm ready when He is!

Those guardian angels have saved me lots of times over the years. I'm sure, many times when I was not aware of it.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Yep, it takes all night to do what I used to do all night.

Ya know we're starting to sound like old farts!

MY FARTS are NOT OLD; They are Always Nice and fresh and Don't STINK either.

 

[Jeepnik]

Age is a state of mind. Problem is, I don't know what state my mind is in. Could be anywhere from Hawaii to Maine. If you find it please send it home. :mrgreen:

 

[Precision32]

Ole Jerry Garcia was right, I may be going to Hell in a bucket baby but at least I'm enjoying the ride.

 

[Selena]

All right you guys...

Under your breath mutter "If I'd known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself" then get off your assets and do what you used to do in half measures. Instead of picking up the 80 pound anvil to set rivets use the 40 pound. Instead of a bale of hay in each hand only carry one and learn to love the attitude if God had really intended you to pick buckets with 120# of scrap nuts and bolts He wouldn't have made a tractor with a loader available. Just get out there and do it! And most important remember the agricultural fact that the rocking chair has killed far more old farmers than the tractor seat. Getting your old heart moving will do wonders for the old heart.

A small glass of wine at dinner can't hurt either.

 

[coach]

I have wondered who took all my hair too.

 

[Paul B]

I've always figured there are three great adventures in life. Being born, living life the best I can and hopefully dying well, preferably in my sleep like Grandpa rather than the passengers in his car screaming. Wait a minuted. I am Grampa. :shock:
Paul B.

 

[mishtub]

"If I had known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of my self."
I once heard a fella reply to that statement with "If I had known I was going to live this long, I'd have partied harder! Youth is wasted on the young."

 

[Jeepnik]

This one I like. "Our generation has used up almost all of the fun. There are only scattered pockets left, and we aren't telling the kids where they are". Thanks sis.

 

[volshooter]

Selena, GREAT post!!! Spot on! A gold star for sure!
I still carry a bale in each hand when putting up hay, I'm just sore the next morning and that I can get over it with the next chore. Honestly I am more active now than 20 years ago, it just takes longer to get out of bed the next morning.
I know I am whining. All my adult life I was called an overachiever. I worked hard not to impress but because I could and liked it. My Doctor once told me that I was a adrenaline junkie and I got my fix from extreme labor. Hell I knew that, I get a buzz from a good sweat. Been married almost 38 years and my weight is within 10 pounds of our marriage. My diet would cause some to keel over from shock.
Some of these posts and folks I know prove that I am blessed to be in the shape I'm in.
I have no reason to complain and I am sorry for posting my whine.
Pure pity party with only me attending. I reckon I was feeling sorry for myself and went to the only place I know for sound advice. Family been telling me for years to slow down. I cannot it's just my pace. An adjustment is forthcoming on my pace, but I will never hit the rocker. When God calls me home I hope I am working up a good sweat, doing what I like.
While shopping today I met a man stocking shelves. He said he was 74 and needed to work to be happy. I understood what he meant and invited him to fish the next day off he had. Same trip I met 2 women, late 30's to maybe mid 40's, both overweight and complaining about needing knee/back surgery for their pain. (Folks feel easy talking to me I reckon)
It is true, if you feel sorry for your self, just look at those around you.....
While a little sore and tired I am thankful to forum members for their posts.

Lord, just give me the strength to do what I have to do, that is all I ask.

Thanks, Rick

 

[gramps]

My grandmother died at age 92. A few months before she died I asked what her perspective was on aging? "If I knew getting old was like this, I never would have done it!" Like the rest I don't move as fast, the shoulders don't have the range of motion I previously had. That makes putting on shirts and jackets difficult. I can still climb aboard the fire trucks, and just this year qualified to drive them. As Cholo's line says. "If you aren't living on the edge your taking up too much space!" Rumble on Amigos!
gramps

 

[jack]

I tell folks, .... I'm only 37 years old. I just look "this way" because I have tried to live life to the fullest !! :mrgreen:

 

[Robb Barnes]

Some of us just have a harder time learning those life lessons! After my second shoulder rebuild I asked my buddy why I kept tearing stuff up. I told him that due to my job requirements, I had kept my muscle tone and muscle mass and could lift the same weight I could in college. That is when he explained that this was my problem! Yes I had kept my muscle but unfortunately, I was of an age where I had lost the elasticity in the connecting tissues of ligaments and tendons. In essence I was literally ripping myself apart simply because I HAD kept the muscle mass on into middle age. Unfortunately it took me 2 MORE shoulder/arm surgeries to grasp the concept that repaired does not mean restored to original condition. The hardest part for me was accepting that after each surgery, I had to learn to accept a new "normal" in what I could do, NOT what I thought I could do. I accept that now but I pay the price every day in sleepless nights and Advil.

 

[graygun]

Good stuff and I can identify or maybe empathize with a lot of it. The bible says that work is a good thing...enjoying the work of your hands.

Yesterday I was working on my boat trailer's wiring;the left side only had running light filament working. I found there was an open in a connection. I soldered and shrink wrapped all the connections;guy I got it from used wire nuts. :roll: The trailer is heavy but only has a 14' aluminum semi-v on it. The tongue weight is fairly heavy and it's a strain to prop it up on cinder blocks. The last time I had a boat was in '88 and this is just something to do as a retiree.

IDK what I'll do when I get really old as I live alone and am not wealthy. No nursing homes or old soldier places with endless talk of what guys did decades ago...real or fabricated. Find some place to fade away perhaps. God is good.

 

[Rancher Will]

If we live long enough all of us will learn. I know that I have had to make adjustments. I am crowding age 85 and I tell my wife that "If I can't take it with me, I am not going to go."

Before 50 years ago I used to just put one hand on the saddle horn and jump into the saddle. Then, about that time I started to put a foot into the stirrup and swing onto the saddle.

Along about 30 years ago I started turning the horse so that I could get a foot in the stirrup on the up-hill side. I still do that now and when possible I move the horse to a rock or a steeper side so I am standing highest when putting my foot in the stirrup. Fortunately I live and work in the Rocky Mountains to it is easy to get on and off a horse on a steep side hill almost anywhere. If I am lucky when working I can stand on the uphill side of the horse level with the stirrup so that I just step into the stirrup.

In the barns on each ranch I have a "step stool" that I use to stand on when getting on a horse. I have noticed that some of my hired hands are starting to use the step-stool at the barns too. Just be happy that we last this long.

 

[jimbo1096]

Ten years ago I balked at taking an asprin for a headache, now every morning before work and at night before bed I face a shelf of medicine bottles that the doctor told me to take to stay alive. I use to see parents and relatives have to take medicine by the handfulls and say I'd never be like that. Between diabetes, high BP, and hypolipidemia, and the tendonitis in my hands, I take that handful of meds twice a day. At least I still get up every day, have a job and can do what I what when I want (mostly). My circle of friends is dwindling from attrition, I've become my worst fears from getting old. Ten years ago I did whatever needed getting done, painting the house, remodeling the kitchen, trimming hedges and cutting down trees. Now I call on son and friends when something needs to be done for the extra help. I can't walk like I use to, and riding a bike, motorized or pedaled is only a memory. At least I am still in my own house, making my own dinner. Lots of seniors can't do that. Ten years ago it irritated me when I was offered a 'senior discount', now I ask for it!
Ten years ago I wanted a sporty car, two door was fine, had to be responsive and quick, now I just traded for a crossover SUV! Comfort and back support replace performance!
Ten years can make a lot of difference!

 

[graygun]

Ten years ago I balked at taking an asprin for a headache, now every morning before work and at night before bed I face a shelf of medicine bottles that the doctor told me to take to stay alive. I use to see parents and relatives have to take medicine by the handfulls and say I'd never be like that. Between diabetes, high BP, and hypolipidemia, and the tendonitis in my hands, I take that handful of meds twice a day. At least I still get up every day, have a job and can do what I what when I want (mostly). My circle of friends is dwindling from attrition, I've become my worst fears from getting old. Ten years ago I did whatever needed getting done, painting the house, remodeling the kitchen, trimming hedges and cutting down trees. Now I call on son and friends when something needs to be done for the extra help. I can't walk like I use to, and riding a bike, motorized or pedaled is only a memory. At least I am still in my own house, making my own dinner. Lots of seniors can't do that. Ten years ago it irritated me when I was offered a 'senior discount', now I ask for it!
Ten years ago I wanted a sporty car, two door was fine, had to be responsive and quick, now I just traded for a crossover SUV! Comfort and back support replace performance!
Ten years can make a lot of difference!

Still have the Dart?

 

[Pierow]

Selena, GREAT post!!! Spot on! A gold star for sure!............Rick

Agree. A good example of what she said is my neighbor Ted. He and his wife are well into their 80's and Ted does what Ted can do. During the Summer his routine is to walk around the back of the house, fill a bucket of water then return to the front to water the plants. Each step he takes is about 6 inches and what would normally take two minutes he takes fifteen to twenty.

One day while this was going on my new neighbor saw this and made ready to help him. I asked him to wait a second and I explained to him I thought to do the same myself when I first saw Ted do this. It is a natural reaction for most to want to help but I told him he would be hurting Ted if he did so. Whatever physical activity Ted could manage was a precious thing and it gives him satisfaction to do the few things he is able to. His wife being more spry than he certainly appreciates whatever little he can do as well.

Pierow

 

[bogus bill]

A few weeks ago I was at a meeting and a acquaintance insulted me when he had the floor. I bit my tongue for a hour which I suppose made me hotter yet. I took him aside after the meeting and was going to nicely tell him something but I lost it the first 10 seconds and told him I was going to knock him on his azz. Someone else got between us. When I got home my wife reminded me he has a pacemaker. He`s about 10 or 12 years younger than me. When you get 74 you still forget it when you get upset.
My wife is a lot younger and shoves me out of the way when she is trying to fix something. Getting old can be hard on your pride.