Whiskers!

We are back in the mountains, waiting for snow to fall, which it did, but soon melted. And I am taking meandering walks with the dog, getting lost in thought, astounded by the views, feeling the wind after hearing it sweeping down out of the upper climes, and thinking of things that have nothing to do with really anything. Thus, I thought of my little grandmother, who I now realize was really little, but when I was young, 8 or 9, she was my size. I used to stay with my grandfather and grandmother when my parents did things I don't really remember, or maybe I just stayed there because I was the youngest and my Mom wanted space. I don't know. But there were things that I would do whenever I was visiting. When we would get up we would have breakfast in our pajamas. then when we would get dressed my grandma would have me stand over her on the bed and lace up her corset. Didn't everyone do that for their grandmother? And she would often have me pull her whiskers with tweezers sitting in the sun by a window. So where is the grandchild that will pull my whiskers, or even tell me that I have this big whompen whisker sticking out on my chin! No one! They won't tell you either cause you are not that important to them.

I discovered this summer when I visited my Internist for the usual updates of prescriptions, that I have graduated. Now that I am over 70, I have graduated to where doing tests, and updating health things really aren't that important anymore. When I mentioned a Pap Smear, she said, 'oh, you can wait on that for a year, I suppose.' OK, what about mammogram and bone density, which just a few years ago were hurriedly reminded to me to get! 'Probably you ought to get the mammogram, but have you broken anything lately?' 'Well, no!' 'Then you can skip the density thing.' I am not going to matter anymore! Oh, great, and I had such high hopes for lasting another ten years or so!

I have really suddenly decided, well actually this happened several years ago, to really try and keep this old body in good shape. I keep track of the veggies I eat, and how many fruit things, and I only try to have two hard candies in the evening after I eat my dairy things. And fibre, yes fibre, you need it, and apples give you a good supply. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, oh yah! I have a high incidence of heart disease in my family background, so I realized some time ago that I don't want to go there. I take a pill for blood pressure and a hiccup in the heart rhythm that I noticed several years ago. I am taking red yeast rice for my lipids, especially my triglycerides, which run high, probably genetic, and watch the weight gain and loss. I try doing some weight lifting, small amounts for my shoulders and my back muscles, and a stationary bike in the winter and a road bike in the summer for my thrills! So far things seem to be working, but who knows. I can walk up hill here on my mountain at 9500 feet without getting out of breath, or panting anymore. But I am pudgy! Pudgy is good, my Obgyn says, 'you need a little fat to replace those hormones you are missing.' Whoopee!

I have a friend who has had bariatric surgery, and she is so inspirational to me, I seem to be able to keep doing the things that have gotten me this far in the mathematical equation of aging. I also have too much yarn and need to knit it up, and lots of books still to be read, and a dog and a cat that need me around, and that is my excuse for wishing I had someone to pull my whiskers. I want to look good! Oh, and that is why I have finally given in about my teeth. I am going to get some cool fangs to replace some quaking aging old filling teeth that look kinda yellow and old. I remember when my Dad was in the hospital in his last months after being burned badly from a bathrobe that caught on fire, a tooth fell out. He felt so bad about that gap in his smile, and wanted the tooth put back in fast, and he was laying in bed with bandages on these awful burns on his back and arm. We do want to look good!

Aging is not for the faint of heart, it has been said. But there is the alternative, others have said. And why not stick around to see what is going to happen this time. Will the earth get too warm and not be able to recover, or will it launch into another ice age, and what about all those guns going off all over the world taking out this person and that person, and for what reason. We seem to have forgotten something along the way. What was this experiment all about. Why were people evolved to live on a planet that appears to be one of a kind and is turning into a trash dump and fought over for religious purposes to further this need, and that need, and for what? Whoa there, lets stop and figure out what that need is, and why. Look around you at all the wasted stuff, souls, and hearts. Take some breaths and think. Where am I bound, and is it worth it, or should I just look for someone to pull my whiskers!