Shock! I Discovered I Can't Tie an Apron on in Back Anymore

I never did run, but I agree with you about the other things -- especially medication instructions. Why not make the ones on medications for the afflictions that most often affect older people in larger print? Perhaps the governments have regulations that make them put a lot of other information on those bottles, leaving less room for instructions. Maybe the cost of larger labels that allow larger print is prohibitive. I did like to climb trees -- even as a parent -- and I sure can't do it now. I'd love to garden more, but it's all I can do to pull the weeds occasionally. I can still take walks, but I have no one who can walk with me, so I'm not as adventurous as I used to be. As for the apron strings, I confess I'm still using aprons I either inherited or acquired when I was a couple of sizes smaller. If I ever get my sewing machine fixed, I might be able to make longer apron strings. Or, perhaps, I could splurge and buy a couple of newer aprons.

Of course!Just lengthen the ties.

Small print is getting to be a real problem. Labels in supermarkets are just about impossible for me to read now.

Some packages require both. I think some are also hard for younger people to open -- especially the clamshells. And how about those tiny pull tabs on the seals of medication bottles? Or those plastic bottles you have to squeeze hard to get your shampoo or dish detergent out?

@JudyEv Sometimes they are too tiny to even see, so I have to poke a hole in the seal to open the bottle.

@bagarad The tiny pull tabs are a nightmare.

@bagarad I forgot to add that I get those cramps while aslleep and sometimes even during the day. I blame it on the BP bills I take.

@allknowing I get cramps in my feet in bed -- especially since we ran out of our magnesium supplement and I can't eat almonds for another ten days because of my teeth. The supplement should arrive this week.

Good hint. Cheaper than buying new aprons. I get over morning stiffness or that from sitting too long once I get moving again. I'm finding, though, that all this carrying of book boxes is making my knees worse again. I'll need to get back to the gym.

I overdid with the book rearranging yesterday and I'm still exhausted today. I need to learn to pace myself, but I want to get the books out of here. This work keeps me on my feet for several hours a day. It's hard to believe that only twenty years ago I was setting up 10 x 30-foot exhibits full of books at conventions within a few hours and having only 2-3 hours to tear them down and get them out of the convention hall. Hubby was in charge of those helping to load and unload the truck and get the books to the booth, but I did the rest. I loved dealing with the people, but the set-up and tear-down was horrible. You just can't stop and take a break.

@bagarad It sounds like an exhausting part of the job. Every job has the exciting moments and the hard parts behind it but when the excitement comes, we know that it was worth all the hard work. I think that you should get someone to help if it becomes too exhausting for you. Our strength is not the same as it used to be when we were very young.

@besweet It's hard to get help with this project because I have to make a decision about every single book before it goes on a shelf or in a box. After the decisions are made and things are in the right boxes it's easier to use help.

I can still walk a mile or more on level ground, but not on hills or slopes or rocky ground. I have to weigh the risk of falling before I take a path or go off a trail to get a photo.

@silvermist I can go up and down stairs now if I'm careful. I can no longer do it carrying a 20 or 30-pound box as I did before my surgeries. I can hardly carry them on a flat surface from the house to the car now and have to use a dolly or request help.

@bagarad Actually you are better than me,I suppose.Though I can climb stairs.I do it slowly and carefully.The only thing I can do as always is driving a car.

Right. It's a good thing we are, too. So far I'm OK with the chair. I'm trying to lose weight for the sake of my knees, but so far I've only lost about seven pounds and I had to get the flu to do that.

That sounds like a solution. I have tools that open the jars for me.

@Jackalyn Yup. there isn't any tool that will open everything.

@bagarad Me too, but sometimes even with them I get stuck.

I have to take mine off to do anything but distance viewing. I've always been near-sighted.

@LadyDuck I had cataract surgery and decided my lenses would be nearsighted, like me. So if I wear my distance glasses for kitchen or reading, I can't see what I'm doing very well. I usually only wear them to watch TV or when I walk outside or drive.

@bagarad Until a couple of years ago I only needed my glasses to read, now I need them more. I feel more comfortable to wear glasses when I cook or I decorate a cake.

That's exactly where I am. The doc told me the cycling would help. I'm hoping before I really need it they will have better procedures. The doc said my knees don't qualify for the outpatient surgery now. I'm trying to avoid hospitals.

@DeborahDiane My doctor prescribed a very expensive cream at a compounding pharmacy to relieve the pain -- $50 for a few ounces. By the time I got the cream I wasn't still in pain and it expired fairly quickly. I rubbed it on my husband's neck when he was in great pain and it really worked for him. Unlike most arthritis ointments, it worked on the nervous system so you don't feel the pain -- or something like that. WE had to get it by mail at Winnetka Pharmacy. It's called AIFT. Mine has already expired before I used it all. You get about 45 doses. You might want to ask your doctor about it. I prefer it to getting a shot that may not work or may make the condition worse.

@bagarad - I'm in exactly the same position ... trying to get exercise and lose weight. My knees ache, but don't qualify for surgery. I am also hoping the treatments will improve in a few years. We both need to keep hanging in there!

Let's not mention getting on and off the floor. Hearing is getting more difficult in that it seems my husband is mumbling or slurring his words like his father used to do when he got old. His speech is getting slower and one word sort of slides into another.

@bagarad I'm also finding that I worry more about landing on my backside when it's rough terrain....or icy.....or muddy....

Where do I find this? Is it here?

I realize these are common problems of aging. I'm curious as to your solutions.

It seems the knees have it as one of the most annoying things about getting older.

Yup! The specialist wants me to go to the gym and use the exercise bike. That does seem to help a bit. He probably wouldn't approve of my carrying the heavy boxes around, especially down stairs. That definitely does not help.