Hi All,
Recently I’ve experienced a couple of things that I haven’t done for awhile, putting on a pair of pantyhose and purchasing a new pair of prescription eyeglasses. Now these two objects, pantyhose and eyeglasses have absolutely nothing in common except that they are both referred to as a pair. However, my experience with these two items allowed me some time for reflection. First I’ll describe my experiences, then I’ll share my reflections.
Let’s begin with the pantyhose. Last week I was getting dressed to attend the visitation and funeral of a friend who lost a sibling. The weather in March is tricky, and on that day it was cool and breezy. I decided I would wear a skirt and a pair of boots. Of course, that leads me to the pantyhose. I hadn’t worn them in a very long time. Why? All women, and yes, some of the fellas know why. They’re a pain to get on and off, they cut off your circulation, and you have to wash them out after use. YUCK! So, I dig in my third drawer under layers of athletic socks, wool socks, and knee highs to finally find a pair of pantyhose that might work. Now I have always bought pantyhose one or two sizes larger on purpose. It’s because I want to be able to feel my feet when I walk and not have my pantyhose twist around my ankles making it look like I screw my shoes on. Anyway, I take a seat on my bench in the bedroom, get a grip on the pantyhose, running my arm up one leg and begin to lift my foot, bending at the waist. It was then that something happened for the first time, an ABDOMINAL CRAMP. I’m talking a Charlie horse of a magnitude you wouldn’t believe. Thought I was going to fall off the bench and be eventually found looking like a fossilized snail. Eventually I was able to stand up, letting the cramp subside and getting the pantyhose on. Shooo!
The next week came and I was picking out frames for new eyeglasses. It had been several years since I’ve changed my glasses, and wouldn’t have this time either except my prescription changed slightly. I thought, okay this might be a good time to get a fresh look. Try something new. The gal helping me look for frames in the optical department was more than helpful. I explained to her I wanted something a little lighter in color, seeing so many of the new trend looks I was anxious to try something new. Bless her heart, instead of me having to look through the wall of frames, she brought me an armload of possibilities, dumping them on the counter. One by one, I tried on each frame and looked at myself in the magnified mirror. Oh heavens, it took only seconds for me to realize that a fresh look really only works on a “fresh face.” Reality set in and I just selected a pair that I thought “weren’t too bad.” How’s that for decision making!
So now I come to my reflections. In the past, I never found it that hard to put on a pair of pantyhose or select frames. It required relatively little effort to do either. I never expected to feel like a contortionist putting on a pair of pantyhose, or having a shocking reaction to seeing my 67 year old face up close, balancing a pair of designer frames on my nose. Both experiences were kind of a jolt to my system. But then, this is exactly the kinds of things that happen as we age. Physicians say things like, “well at your age” , clerks in grocery stores rarely acknowledge you, bruises form easily, wrinkles appear, and you stop wearing pantyhose and caring about designer eyewear. It’s okay, we change, we get older, that’s life. I still love my life, wrinkles, occasional muscle cramps and all. Aging is inevitable, how we choose to deal with it, well that’s within our power.
Stay strong!
Cheers!
