Age adjusting your activities

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Source: lappolis.com

Source: lappolis.com

We alter activities to meet our changing needs as we age. (At least we do if we’re smart!)

For example, I still love shoe shopping but I’m content to limit myself to two hours max and fondling (that’s the shoes not the staff). I no longer need to buy. Mostly.

When we were younger we attended rock concerts a lot. Like really a lot. Now it has to be someone we love because there is the traffic, distance, crowds (and we all know how much I love people especially all jammed together and sweaty!), bathroom access and whatever happened to the ticket prices? My first car was cheaper!

We have seen most everyone we really like. Some that we haven’t seen are dead (and we’ve given up on ever seeing them). Others are just too old. A few years back we saw a rocker who was famous in the late 50s, early 60s. He couldn’t remember the words to his own songs. Heck, he couldn’t remember which song he was singing. It was quite a challenge for the band (and the audience. Can you imagine all these older folks doing the wave and he changes direction? There were body collisions and it wasn’t pretty! If you get hit by a titanium hip you are in deep doo-doo).

There are other things like large group parties. I can’t hear well. If it’s a large group, I do a lot of head shaking and hope I didn’t agree to give any money. (Or any body organs either – you have to watch for that!)

On the other hand — my grandniece Jenn agreed to give me one of her kidneys if I need it. Maybe her hearing isn’t so good either. Or maybe that happened after beer pong.

At picnics, I am no longer in the front line of the volleyball court. (Typically I am too busy at the front line of the beer keg.) Volleyball jams my old knuckles and the real truth is that no one wants me on their team. (That will change when I get to the nursing home! I’ll show them! Whack ‘em with my walker!)

Then there is cooking. I loved to cook. For a time I catered. (Very short time. People who have “elite” parties are like bridezillas.) Now I do most of my creative cooking in my head and it rarely makes it to a plate. I did buy an avocado last week to make guacamole. I watched it rot very slowly on the counter. Boogers!

However, I love making reservations. So many choices, so little time!

None of these adaptations were forced by health issues. It’s all about interests, energy, previous experiences and what I want to do now.

Have you adapted to your stage of life?

This post was inspired by Carol Ferenc from The Little Writing Blog. Her post was about camping, age-adjusted. Click here to access.

 

 

53 thoughts on “Age adjusting your activities”

  2. I am still adjusting to age. I complain to my husband about not being able to clean the house in a day, when I used to do it, top to bottom, in three hours. He looks at me and says, “How old were you when you last did that?” I scowl at him and tell him that “age has nothing to do with it.” He just laughs and go back to what he was doing.

    But I’m just old(er), not stupid. I know that age has something to do with it and I have to start being a little more realistic. Thanks for presenting the issue in a humorous way. It helps not to have it shoved down my throat. Like the time, our doctor asked hubby to leave the room while he examined me. Doc calls me “your mother.” Hubby starts laughing, and I glare at both of them.

    So much for growing old(er) gracefully. 😦

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  3. Adapt is my middle name. I even use it to describe myself on Twitter! So in answer to your question, yes I’m adapting to the age I am. And in some ways I’ve even an over-achiever, having always been an old soul at heart! Great observations here.

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    • I love embracing the changes. I don’t feel badly that I can’t go on the roller coaster. I can still eat the wonderful French fries. I can also appreciate those things that you don’t see when you are busy being really active.

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    • I have a few odd shopping quirks. I like nice towels and replace them yearly. I also share my mother’s obsession with fresh nightgowns. I must have 20. Really how many do you need and we’re not talk anything sexy here either.

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  7. We were just out to dinner tonight at a little local place and it was so noisy we could barely hear each other. There was a lot of leaning in and ear cupping from both of us. I’d like to think it was the acoustics of the restaurant rather than loss of hearing. The idea of a concert appeals to me until I think about parking, traffic jams, bathroom lines and the cost of the ticket. Okay, now I do feel old. I’ve seen Robert Cray, Little Richard and some other great artists play on the New Haven green over the years (for free). Easy parking and always a good time.

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  9. I hate shoes…or maybe it’s my feet that I hate. Either way shoe shopping is not something I do until I have no decent looking shoes left in the closet. My hearing is not great and in crowds even small crowds I can’t hear anything but rumbles and mumbles. Like you I nod and smile and hope for the best.

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  11. So you didn’t go to the last Grateful Dead concert? ( it’s not the same anyway)
    When I see some aging rock and roll stars, I silently whisper “Don’t dance – don’t dance in stage – it isn’t like it used to be!”…some refuse to listen. Shiver.
    Hey – where’s the walker with wheels or the scooter at the end of the image line? (I’ve told my kid, if I can’t hike up the mt, then rent me a burro. I’m not stayin’ on the porch)

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  12. I’m glad you clarified the fondling. 🙂 I’m getting to the point where I’m really happy about how most of the rockers I loved back in the 70’s are still touring — albeit in smaller venues than they did back in the day. To be able to see them in more intimate settings is part of the fun and excitement now. I also going to concerts way less than I did before, but for the most part I’m getting to actually experience them differently, and I’m enjoying that change.

    I’d give anything to at least have a hint as to who that aging and forgetful rocker was that you saw. 🙂

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    • It was Chuck Berry. Not only was it discombobulated but it lasted a half hour. I don’t remember the exact cost but it was around $70-$80 a ticket. I love that the older ones are in smaller venues now. We have seen the Moody Blues a number of times locally in places that hold under 2,000.

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      • Oooooh, how sad. Yeah, that would hurt. I saw him back in the early 80’s in a small Ann Arbor club. It’s the only time I saw him, so I’ll hold onto that memory. I’m so sorry… you must have been PISSED!

        I haven’t seen the Moodies in years. Boy, that would be great if Hayward and Lodge are a part of the band still anyway.

        Great memories….

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        • They are. Ray Thomas retired. (Amazing, isn’t it? Old rockers die of liver failure or drugs but never get to retire!) They are my husband’s favorite band so we see them every other year. They still do a tour each year. This year he saw them in Denver while visiting his kids. They were supposed to play at Red Rocks but there was a snowstorm in May. It was moved indoors.

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  13. I’ve adjusted on the concerts thing. I will gladly pay the ticket price and go to the big shows, as long as there is a black car waiting outside for me afterwards. My girlfriends will do that – my husband will not. We do still go to concerts, but at the little outdoor amphitheater here in Atlanta where you can prepay parking, bring in your own basket with food and WINE, and the bathrooms are close by 😉

    What I won’t do now that I’m older is seats by the kitchen in restaurants, or Black Friday sales. Honey, there’s nothing I need badly enough to stand in line at 4 a.m.

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  14. Kate, thanks so much for linking to my blog!! I’m honored. Yes, I’ll admit to every one of the age adjustments you mentioned. But as you said, it’s all about what we want to do NOW.

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  15. I’m with you on rock concerts ~ I still love music but don’t need to pay big bucks, drive, park, hunt for a public toilet, sit in uncomfortable seats, or be surrounded by “screaming fans” in order to “enhance” the experience.

    Instead, I pop a CD in the player, and listen to the Stones and Jefferson Airplane when the lead singers could still hit the “high” notes.

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    • We have some DVDs of live concerts. One we love is the BeeGees in Vegas from the 90s. That beats the hassle anytime! We saw the Stones about 10 years ago. Great entertainers but the whole arena (which was populated with grey haired people) smelled funny. You know…like that funny weed! I asked my husband if I was in the smoking section!

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  17. This post made my day. I have been wondering why I am closing in the area I like to shop and travel to visit. I will pay a little more just for the convenience of not having the hassle of fighting crowds or walking too far. If I am tired..and still have a few errands to do..I go home..and say to myself. “it can wait till I feel like it”.
    Thank you Kate for all your honesty..and just basically saying “it is what it is”.

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    • I was telling my friend Lynn over the weekend that I cook in my head but it never makes it to the table. She said she does that all the time. Dreams, fantasies, whatever! Just a new stage that is just as delightful (if not quite as energetic) as the last one.

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  18. Adjusted to my age? Nope. I still think I can run a mile even if I collapse en route. And I love mirrors that deceive. Never did want to be a great cook so there are no recipes in my head. Still somewhat introverted and always fell asleep at parties anyway. Fondling shoes? Now that’s another story. 🙂 LOL! I love your posts!

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    • In my head I do a lot of things that my real body doesn’t do although running is not one of them. Never was a big party person either but I do enjoy friends in small groups (just like you do!).

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  19. Ah, you’re a youngster after my own heart, Kate! Homers on all points! It saps the energy just driving to outings; then the noise level drives what sanity remains right out the window (if there is one). We like peace/quiet and home where it’s comfy and we aren’t required to participate in ‘unusual activities’…Gibby is entertainment enough!
    As for cooking? 99% of the avocado purchases are never used…they decorate their parking place in the window and visit the garbage much later. However…I found a new recipe yesterday and if all goes well the avocado will be one of the required ingredients. Wanna’ bet? Ha!
    Oh, and I have enough new shoes that I’ve never worn because somehow my feet changed between the mall and my closet…oh well, have to have a little fun, right?

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