Thoughts on growing older

This week I completed the biggest part of my annual doctor check ups. It was a little interesting when I realized most of them were scheduled for the same week. It has been a busy time since our return from Nashville with meetings (who said things would slow down once your kid(s) were out of the house?), preparations for other events and finally the doctors. I look at the list of numbers in my phone thinking, “Gee, when did the entries for doctors begin to catch up with the ones for friends and family?” The list has gotten longer as I have aged along with the fact so many of them are specialists. You have a doctor for each specific thing, eyes, hearing, back, specific conditions like diabetes, along with everything else. Gone are the days where you went to one well known to you doctor. I have mixed feelings as you realize in specializing the doctor has all the up to date information for their area but it was nice to have one trusted person for your medical needs.
Whoever said, “Growing old(er) isn’t for sissies”, pretty much hit the nail on the head. I have found particularly in the years since hitting forty this is true. It has been a goodly number of years since I hit that plateau (Oh man, am I dating myself here). The number of pills taken has slowly grown with each diagnosis. You realize the purposes of each one and are thankful for them but wish you could lower the number. Then, you kind of begin to wax poetic back to your younger years….
I used to be able to eat pretty much what I wanted, although I tried to limit it because of a constant battle with my weight. Second servings are NOT allowed anymore. Now it is controlled amounts of things for various reasons. Gone are the days when I jogged a couple of miles every night as my body would scream in protest if I tried it now. Walking is fine for me. Rougher sports like basketball and softball are for watching for the same reason. Glasses are absolutely essential now, with bifocals added, especially for reading or seeing smaller objects. But the thing I think about most often is the fact I try to get out of climbing for things now…it didn’t bother me in years past. I’d just grab the kitchen stool or inside ladder and have at it. In fact, in my childhood years I used to get in trouble for pulling out the kitchen drawers and climbing up them to answer our phone which was on the wall. I saw it as trying to help, but Mom had other thoughts! I have a “grabber” now to help me get things off the higher shelves. I never let much slow me down, still don’t for the most part, but put more thought into it nowadays.
Lest one think I see things in a morbid way that is definitely NOT the case. In being forced to slow down it has given time to think about the blessings given by God. Each day is a gift from Him to be cherished. The time is used to give more thought to his Word, the Bible, and using the time to pray for others. Seeing things through a different eye with our life experiences is really a blessing. The simple things mean more like hearing the birds once I have my hearing aids in for the day, yet another sign of growing older, along with looking out over the fields on our farm. Wait a minute, there is another change!! A goodly share of the farm has been sold after many years in the family. But still there is still much to be thankful for in life. You find different ways to serve Him. Just keep an open mind to His leading!