Some Musings

As you age everything slows down,

except the time it takes for cake and 

ice cream to reach your hips!    

 

Work like you don't need the money
Love like you've never been hurt
Dance like nobody is watching
Sing like nobody is listening
Live like it's Heaven on Earth
Dream like you’re living your dream

And

Do you part to save the earth. It’s the only planet with chocolate!

 

            Life as I know it

More than a year ago now, I was going along just fine. I saw my family, I took part in local social activities, I shared meals with friends, and then a dangerous enemy made itself known and altered everything. The end result was that I became basically confined to my home. Suddenly I could not see anyone and became somewhat of a recluse.

            Before my beloved dog died, I used to talk to him when I needed to find solutions to one problem or another. He was a great listener, and talking it out somehow helped me find the steps I had to take.

            When covid became a reality I realized that because I had no one to talk to, I began talking to myself without really being aware of it. Leftover from when I used my dog as a sounding board, I suppose. I asked myself things aloud and I argued with myself yet seldom won!  But self-talk is not all bad.

            Psychologists say that talking to ourselves is healthy when our social lives are restricted for whatever reasons. It can even improve our performance of some of the tasks we do regularly. Professional athletes have been known to criticize themselves after missing a putt, a ball or failing to score. For my part, I became aware that I criticized myself aloud for being unable to complete a crossword without help from the internet.

            Was everyone in the same boat?

            When walking outside with my mask on, I began wondering if the masked people I encountered also talked to themselves behind their face coverings. You can’t tell much about people wearing masks. You certainly don’t know if they are smiling at you. When masks are gone from our lives, it’ll be great to see people’s faces again and be able to assess if they are open to conversing.

            But for a little while longer we have to continue as we’ve been doing for over a year which means I and many others will carry on talking to ourselves and be the better for it.

 

 

About Abuse

Since 2006 June 15^th each year is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It’s an official United Nations International Day which acknowledges that senior abuse is a public health and human rights issue. The day sheds light on senior abuse by promoting resources and services that can help increase the safety and well-being of older individuals.

            There are many forms of abuse: psychological, financial, physical, sexual and ageism. These can lead to an array of problems for victims from anxiety and depression to diminished financial resources and deterioration of health.

            Sometimes people know or suspect that a family member, friend, neighbour or acquaintance is being mistreated or abused, sometimes by that person’s child, but they are not sure what to do. They worry about getting involved, not saying the right thing or wrongly identifying the situation.

            If you suspect someone is being abused, make an effort to reach out to the person. You can ask things like: How are you doing? Can I help you in any way? Is there someone you would like to see or talk to?

            No matter your age, if you are being abused, know that you have the right to live without fear and that you do not deserve to be abused. You have the right to control your own life and make your own decisions.

There are steps you can take to get help.

-          Tell someone you trust what is happening to you.

-          If someone is hurting or threatening you, or if it is not safe for you where you are, call the police.

-          Talk with people to learn more about resources available in your community. Find out your option to take care of your personal needs and financial security.

-          Make a safety plan in case you have to leave quickly.

Take steps now because abuse often gets worse over time.

 

Passport or no Passport

The talk all around these days is: Did you get vaccinated? When are you scheduled for your second shot? etc. We are on our way, carefully, to a brighter future after having had to alter our lives for more than a year. But what happens when it’s over – covid that is. Will it ever be over? Not even virologists know for sure. After all it is a new problem no one expected, and all the ramifications are still in the process of being fully studied and remedied.

            However, when life starts again in a new reality, how will it work? It will be a while yet for everyone to be vaccinated and not everyone wants to be vaccinated. So, what to do?

            Employers, for example, will want to make sure all their employees are vaccinated before coming back to their work environment. After all they have an obligation to protect their personnel. And what about airlines? When people are crowded like sardines inside an aircraft it would be nice if everyone on the flight was vaccinated, especially now that more variants of the virus keep appearing. So how to be sure?

            Vaccination passports as proof of inoculation have been suggested, but there are objections claiming that it would violate individual rights. So how to protect people from disease while protecting people’s rights? Definitely a difficult question to answer.

            I am not Solomon, but I would think that in the situation in which the world finds itself at the moment the rights of the whole take precedence over any individual rights. The loudest argument in favor of that view is the danger to the community. And as we have seen over the last year or so, once disease invades a community it’s a long struggle to tame it.

            And if proof of vaccination becomes the norm in the near future, will anti-vaccine proponents quit their jobs rather than accept a shot in the arm? Let’s hope that they will find that price a bit too high!

 

 

WONDERS

When people are asked to name the seven wonders of the world, they identify things like the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, etc. Such things are certainly wonders of course, but we often forget the wonders all around us.

The seven wonders in our lives are: to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to feel, to laugh and to love.

So true, so simple, so important. 

 

No Comment

H – “Hello?”

W – “Honey, it’s me. Are you at the club?”

H – “Yes.”

W – “Great! I am at the mall two blocks from where you are. I just saw a beautiful coat. It’s absolutely gorgeous!! Can I buy it?”

H – “What’s the price?”

W – “Only $600.00.”

H – “Well, OK, go ahead and get it, if you like it that much…”

W – “Ah, and I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked. I spoke with the salesman, and he gave me a really good price…and since we need to exchange the BMW that we bought last year…”

H-“What price did he quote you?”

W – “Only $60,000…”

H – “OK, but for that price I want it with all the options.”

W – “Great! But before we hang up, something else…”

H – “What?”

W – “It might look like a lot, but I was reconciling your bank account and…I stopped by the real estate agent this morning and saw the house we had looked at last year. It’s on sale!! Remember? The one with a pool, English Garden, acre of park area, beachfront property.”

H – “How much are they asking?”

W – “Only $450,000 – a magnificent price…and I see that we have that much in the bank to cover…”

H – “Well, then go ahead and buy it, but just bid $420,000. OK?”

W – “OK, sweetie…Thanks! I’ll see you later!! I love you!!!”

H – “Bye…I love u too…”

The man hangs up and raises his hand while holding the phone and asks all those present: “Does anyone know who this phone belongs to?”

 

 

 

 

AGE

My body knows exactly how old I am, but my mind simply refuses to believe it. That’s something I face every year when my birthday rolls around. I find it impossible to accept that new number. I think: That can’t be right?

            For some reason I always figured I would die young, of course now it’s too late. Much too late ! The solution might well be to forget birthdays in the future like a niece told me she intends to do. She corrected me when I mentioned that her birthday was coming up by saying that maybe she had a birthday coming up but probably not!

            When we were kids we were so proud to point out that we were: five and a half, or six and three quarters. Then we were so excited to finally reach twenty-one, weren’t we? Ever since then the years have been flying by, ever more quickly. And when we see a new age decade approaching we want to scream: Wow! Stop! We hope we could stop the passage of time, but no one is listening.

            All this, of course, is based on the fact that age numbers are such a big deal in our society as it has always been. “She’s 50? Can’t be!” or “He’s turning 60? Are you sure?

            Age presses on no matter how much we want to turn it off. Some members of my family are enjoying life in their 90s, something to crow about. Of course they feel that those in their 60s and 70s are spring chickens. So nice to hear!!