Moms Keep Us Young

My mom is ninty-six.  She thinks I'm young.  I like that but she does tell it like it is in some areas.  A couple of years ago she looked at me and said,  "Have you been to the dentist lately?  Your teeth are like your brother's, you've drank so much coffee that they're yellow. You need to get them cleaned."
I had them cleaned twice a year so I knew cleaning was not the ticket. And I looked at pictures of myself, and I could see my whites were not so white anymore.  I promptly went to my dentist and ordered his tooth whitening process.  My mom now approves of my smile and I check my pictures ever so often to see if I need to whiten again.  After all, I still drink coffee.  Are your teeth white?  Don't visit my mom if you don't want to know the truth.
    My teeth are white but my last visit she commented that my blouses looked a bit skimpy.  Hummm....same sized tops?  Opps, I'd better weigh.

It Was Not Just About Age

I hung a bunch of heavy pictures using an electric screw driver.  My shoulder started to hurt after I'd hung five but when I was young, I could push through the pain with nothing but a few days of sore muscles.  Well, I learned the hard way better not push my body too hard.  The next day after hanging the pictures, my arm and shoulder hurt.  A week later the shoulder was still painful.  Two months later, the shoulder still hurt.  Finally I went to my doctor...told him my story and he suspected bursitis. He prescribed a steroid shot and medication.  It helped but two years later, I was still struggling with pain in that shoulder.  DUH!!  I was sure it was my age and a part of the aging process but I finally decided maybe I should have a specialist look at it. An MRI showed a complete tear to the rotator cuff!!!  You're kidding!  I had it fixed and six months later I'm still healing.  Moral to that story is never assume something is a part of the aging process if it comes on suddenly and doesn't go away.  Better get it checked.  Had I gotten it checked early on, the recovery would have been faster because the torn tissue wouldn't have had two years to atrophy!  I know, not very smart on my part.  Don't make the same mistake.

Learning to Enjoy

 I've had to learn to enjoy this stage of life...not because I minded aging(let's face it, the alternative ain't so good and involves dirt) but because I minded giving up several loved ones including my mate of almost thirty-three years.  How about you?  Had to move forward without someone you love?  The way seems strange but it's not without hope.  Just be careful where you place your hope. If you put it in replacing that loved one with someone new, your hope is misplaced.  It'll ease the pain for a little while but it may lead to much more pain.  Let yourself heal and learn to live in your new shoes. Recognize that there is still wonderful purpose for your life...and attitude(or we could call it Faith) is one of the biggest things that will push you forward.  I share these things as one who misplaced her hope  and bore the painful results of doing so.  I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made.

1. Start a gratitude journal and add something new everyday.
2. Learn to embrace(accept willingly) this season of life.
3. Get to know the real you (I didn't really know myself)
4. Find other's that are healing too and be a cheerleader for them.
5. Realize this can be some of the best days of your life
6. Don't give up hope that number five is true

Lessons in the Trenches

I'm learning a lot in this season of life.  How about you?  I've learned that I can't really see my face unless I use a five-times magnifying mirror.  I look much younger in the regular mirror (only to myself of course) but when I use the five-times mirror...things come into focus that I didn't even know were there....like chin hairs and whiskers and trenches in my smile lines around my mouth and my eyes.  I can slather creme on the lines and hope it works but it's the little hairs I can do something about and I stalk them like their criminals.   I've never had my eyebrows waxed but I give them a regular tweezing. Then there's the coiffure....where did those grey hairs come from? There's a few wiry little guys that love to prance on top of my head.  I've found some delightful hair products that make my mane look thick and tame the corkscrews.  AND my beautician has found a process that highlights the color that remains. It's rough staying presentable in this fifty-five plus stage of life but it's worth it.  My five year old(with concern in his voice) commented to his mom the other day as they passed thru a restaurant drive thru ..."that lady looks like she is going to die soon."  She was older than me and very wrinkled....since I don't want my grandkids thinking that about me yet, I'll keep sprucing up what I can.  Any tips you have to share, I'd appreciate!