Every day I sit for awhile and ponder my life. I have experienced many ups and downs...some of my own creation...others leveled upon me without any help from me at all. I wanted to record the progression of my aging process so that my children could get a glimpse at what they might face when they have lived as long as I have.
I have a talk with my body every once in a while, just to check in to see how it is doing. For a woman my age, who has pushed my body through ma y rigorous activities, like ballet and toe dancing for most of my young years, hiking steep trails into mountains, swimming rivers and lakes, skiing and water skiing, a little golf (I never was very good at it!) and yes, even playing the piano. Plus, I bore 6 children! All of these should have left me with a ton of arthritis, but what little I have is endurable. The only bone I ever broke was a toe when I was 13-\ years-old...and, oh yes, a chip fracture in my thumb after our automobile accident last September. I have been pretty good to my body over the years and it, in turn, has been good to me.
I have had 3 abdominal surgeries, 5 eye surgeries, a bore-hole craniotomy for a head bleed, and most of my teeth pulled. It could have been much worse. My vision is crappy! I inherited my dad's Glaucoma and my mom's Macular Degeneration. Because of this, I don't drive anymore. I have a difficult time reading anything unless the font is THIS BIG! And I can't do any kind of close work, My hearing us awful, EH? And my feet have lost their feeling...Neuropathy...also inherited from my mother. But my body tells me that if I don't give up on it, it won't give up on me...just yet!
I have been so blessed to have my cognitive abilities still intact. My memory is sharp, my ability to reason is intact, and I recognize everyone in my life still. Sometimes, if I haven't seen them for a long time, I have a hard time realizing that that little girl I used to brush her hair as a child has grown into a mature, lovely woman! Recognizing that they age too, throws me sometimes! For these blessing, I am eternally thankful, because so much of my brain power could have been wiped out when I suffered my head bleed in 2012.
Why am I writing this? I think it is because I wanted to keep a Diary or Journal, if you will, to help me track any signs of decline. I am soon to be 81-years-old. My mother lived to be 86 and in the last few years of her life I watched her body dwindle down to a frail 86 pounds and her cognitive abilities only slowly decline. In the end, she didn't know my sister. I tell myself it was because she couldn't take care of her and we ad to put her in a Nursing Facility. She was nearly blind and needed a walker to take the few steps she was able to take.
So, over the next months and years, I shall check in here and leave a "progress (or regress) report" so those who come after me can read it. This is my life!
