“I ain’t as good as I once was…”
Toby Keith sang it
and I have been in
complete
and total denial
until this morning
Cowboy Dan and I
were traveling to Birmingham
on a mini~date
(remember I consider any time with Love
minus the rascals a mini~date)
we were going to Birmingham
not to shop
or to eat
but instead
for me to have some yucky
puffy veins
that weren’t working properly
removed from my leg
eww.
I know.
I am not going to go into the
details of that procedure
but instead
discuss the sobering
reality
that I
may be
aging
incident#1
I was given a thoughtful parting gift
during my last week of work
back in May
by a precious young woman
(who just happens to be at least a decade younger than me~which is completely fine…)
the gift: a book
the title: Chicken Soup to Inspire a Woman’s Soul:
Stories Celebrating the Wisdom,
Fun
and Freedom of MIDLIFE
MIDLIFE?!!?!?!?!!?
convinced this sweet young woman
surely meant me no emotional harm
I went to sister nurse for reassurance
(“an innocent mistake” I thought-there’s no way I’m middle aged)
so I shared the story
with sister nurse
and she replied
without hesitation
“Medically speaking~ you ARE middle aged.”
whew! nobody panic
deep breath
hold.
okay.
now
a
nice
S-L-O-W exhale
incident#2
while at the beauty shop last week
my stylist
who happens to be my sister-in-law (SIL)
says “Weelll, wellll guess what I see?”
me: “Shew I know..root-rot..it’s been toooo long!”
SIL: “nope”.(she said oh-so-casually) “silver strands.”
me: “ARE YOU SURE?”
SIL: “See? gray hair.”
(she singled out the silver strands-
as if it were her turn for “Show-and-Tale”)
now I would love to tell you that I was
“just fine”
when she found them..
but that would be
a lie.
incident#3
visited the chiropractor for an adjustment yesterday
while checking out
I spotted a pillow behind the desk
I NEED a new pillow.
So I asked the sweet receptionist (SR)
“Do you sell pillows?”
SR: “We sure do. Would you like to try one?”
(thinking to myself~I wonder if one of these pillows will help these chronic cricks?)
me: “Sure, I would love to try one.”
SR: “Right this way.”
she took me into a room, told me to lie down and feel free to try each of the pillows..
a few brief moments later
I walked out the door
with my off brand
Tempur-Pedic pillow
more EXCITED
than anyone should ever be
over a PILLOW.
(by the way..I’m thrilled to report I slept better last night than I have in a LONG time)
so.
I share these stories
with Cowboy Dan this morning
on the way out of town
I say to him
“Well. I decided that I may start baby-stepping out of denial.
I think we may really. be. aging.”
CD: (full of sarcasm) “you think?”
me: “yep..I think it’s time.”
CD: “what gave it away? the granny pillow you came home with last night or the fact that we are on our way to have veins that have stopped working in your legs removed?”
and with that
I took my first baby step
