Third Age Warrior: Health, fitness and forgetfulness as we age

So much has been written about our health and fitness. I want to make a few comparisons from when we were younger.

When meeting with friends for coffee, we once chatted about our kids, now we talk about our ailments.

You do it three times a night usually. Get up to go to the toilet that is.

We used to covet our neighbours’ cars. Now we envy them their new mobility scooters.

We once went through the brochures for clothes; now it is mobility aids.

The pull of gravity is cruel – everything goes south.

We either get hairier or lose the lot.

You talk to yourself more, or to the pets.

Items are never where you left them – they seem to grow legs and move somewhere else.

We find ourselves saying things our mother used to say. The sort of things we swore we would never say, like “In my day…….”

You call your children by their wrong names – or by the dog’s name.

You swore you would never play bowls when you were younger but now find it stimulating.

You panic when you don’t get enough sleep thinking that you wonder how you ever managed to party all night in your youth and go to work the next day.

You forget what day of the week it is as they all seem to blur into one.

You feel embarrassed that you need your four-year-old grandchild to sort out your computer problems.

You struggle to find a word. It was there a minute ago. You go through the alphabet in your head, but can’t find that word. In the middle of the night, you wake and know what it was. You wonder if you should ring the person you were speaking to and tell them what the word was. Don’t do that! They too have trouble sleeping.

Parts of your body hurt that you never thought you had. Should you go to the doctor or should you try Dr Google?

You become extremely good at self-diagnosis due to Dr Google.  You wonder if you should have taken a different path in life and done medicine instead.

Your social life revolves around doctor’s appointments these days.

You see some old person and think you know them from somewhere, then realise it is you reflected in a mirror.

Sex is just a distant memory.

Your anger at the injustice of a setback is nothing compared to the rage you feel when told your pension will be cut by $1. You think how well off you were in your youth when money was the tool to look good in those new expensive shoes.

You dress now for comfort, not fashion. It has been twenty years since you last bought a pair of high heels. You blame your balance and bunions.

On holidays you make sure your accommodation has no stairs. You also take note of where the public toilets are. Once it was taking note due to the children, now it is for our own convenience.

I could add more but will leave it to you. What changes have you found with ageing?