Attitude and Aging

Yesterday, because of the snow fall, I had to move my car or leave it buried, and that was not an option with more snow expected. It took me a few minutes to clear, (I hate the van in winter) and while I waited for the guy with the snow blower to clear the space, I visited with a few of my neighbours.

The one woman is very fit and used a shovel to clear some of the snow the blower missed. She pushed the shovel along the yellow line marking my parking spot, a nice gesture. The other neighbour was a man I’d never spoken to before, a thin but active man, ninety years old.

And there I stood, struggling to stand with my cane in hand, younger by 25 years of the one, probably of an age with the other.

Today another neighbour brought back my Tupperware container, and thanked me for the homemade soup I’d given her last week. She’s 82 and had just walked out to the mailbox and back, a decent walk, one I couldn’t manage without the walker and a few rest stops.

Some people just age better than others, not my luck, I’m afraid.

If my life is a case of that crap stuff about not being given more of a burden than I can cope with, well, I think someone miscalculated. The MS and its symptoms are bad enough, then there’s the Fibromyalgia, a bit more to deal with, add in the arthritis and all those aches and pains, the worst being the back and knee.

I look at others, enjoying their retirement, and I can’t help but feel a bit cheated. Hard knocks, I guess that’s what life is all about. I wish I had done some things differently, but wishful thinking is a lost cause, there are no do-overs. It is what it is.

So, let’s think bright thoughts. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and there is no snow in the immediate forecast. I think I will take a short walk, get some sun and fresh air. Attitude counts.