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Saturday, October 29, 2022

The Struggles of Getting Older

Since 'Struggles' seems to be the theme of the week, I thought I would go with that title. 

There comes a point in everyone's life when you notice that things are changing. It might start with something as simple as a misplaced word here and there or something as extreme as a hip replacement (See Dino's post titled Struggles). Whatever the level, it is going to happen to each of us. I turn 60 this year and have noticed a few things that many people would probably not admit to. If I was still working, I certainly would not admit to it!

 Back in my working days I was what I considered a pretty darn good multitasker. Dual screens on my computer, juggling full calendars filled with conference calls, meetings and multiple projects with critical timelines. In the peak of my career, I could do this in my sleep. Now, if you read my last post, I have trouble getting my shirt on frontwards and no, they were not button up shirts!

I could remember times, dates, names and details without missing a beat. Now I go from the living room into the bedroom and forget what I went in there to get. I know I am not alone, but things, they are a changing! I feel like I could still do my old job but at a much slower pace than a few years ago. I am so glad that I left when I did, still at the top of my game and not when my performance was in a death spiral. I have to give to people who are still working well into their 70's or even later. People like Rick (It's About Time) who... I actually don't know how old he is (70's?), gets up every day and goes off to his job as a welder. 

What other things have I noticed? Constantly looking for my glasses and they are on my head, spend 5 minutes looking for something I literally just set down. I notice it a lot when I write the blog. In my head the sentences are flowing like butter but when I look at what I actually typed compared to what I was thinking..... entire words missing in a sentence. Or a word that should not be in the sentence at all, like "where" instead of "when".  Barb is my proofreader and will sometimes ask me what I was trying to say. I need to reread everything I write a couple of times to make sure I typed it correctly. Or sometimes when talking to Barb, again in my head I make perfect sense but sometimes a wrong word comes out when I say it. 

It is no wonder old couples bicker and think their spouses are stupid. Barb will mention something to me and 5 minutes later I will ask her about the same thing. She is getting more forgetful as well, but instead of saying something, rolling my eyes and thinking she is stupid I remind myself that as we get older this is the new normal and we need to be understanding instead of demeaning. (Well, at least I try not to roll my eyes). What is sometime obvious to others is often invisible to the person who is actually doing it. At this point, I would say that our minds are a 8 or 9 out of 10 compared to what we used to be. We can still use the remote and can figure out pretty much every technological challenge thrown at us. But it is definitely changing! This is exactly why I blog, so I can look back in a few years and remember what we did. I might need Barb to remind me who is in certain pictures. That scenario will go something like this.... Me: "Barb, who is this?" Barb: "That's you honey" Me: "Oh, okay". So here I sit watching the birds from my recliner. It is not an EZ lift recliner, nor do I need a walker, but if my friends are any indication, it is only a matter of time!

Speaking of changing, the seasons took a definite change for the colder when we woke up Monday morning to wind and snow. In fact, those cooler temps stuck around all week. What did this mean for us? Two things; indoor projects and time to get out deer hunting! 

Sunday, before the weather hit, I went over to Kevin's to help him get his bunkhouse weather tight by putting windows in. When I got there, he was out chasing the neighbor's cattle that had gotten out, so I sat on his porch and watched the sunrise. If you look closely, you can see the bunkhouse on the middle of the right edge. Once he got back, we commenced to putting in the windows.

For indoor projects, I have started on the workshop/loft area of the garage. Our garage is 30'x50' and was built specifically for our 40' 5th wheel. Now that we have sold the 5th wheel, we are going to repurpose that space creating a 14'x18' workshop. This will still leave 35' in that bay for our camper or a future Class C. This is my "before" picture. Give me a few weeks and I should have an "after" picture.

Progress so far
Barb is still working on the headboard, an hour here and there. Her steps this week were staining the edges and varnishing the boards. I am thinking she might have them done by next week's blog. 

While she is busy working, I finally got out deer hunting. Some of you may be thinking "There goes Jim having fun while Barb is working". Well think again. Hunting is hard and stressful work. Have you never seen the reality shows where people must hunt just for subsistence? Where the narrator says "If Jim does not get a deer this season, he and Barb will die a slow painful death from starvation". That's right, I am out there trying make sure we survive another winter!

The pending rut and cooler weather mean the deer are going to be more active. I have seen a couple of nice ones out there on camera and am looking forward to seeing them in person. I have been shooting my bow quite a bit (while Barb is working) so I feel pretty confident should an opportunity present itself.

The other animals were busy preparing for winter as the birdfeeder was much busier than usual. I identified them as best as I can...

                     Eurasian Nuthatch                                                      Nuthatch and Chickadee

                       Downy Woodpecker                                               White-breasted Nuthatch

Did you know that the Nuthatch is one of only a few birds that can walk down a tree face first?

Dark-eyed Junco?
Kinda fuzzy as it was taken through a screen 
And of course, there are the ever-present turkeys who are looking for a snack on a frosty October morning. 

Tuesday, neighbor Jim and I went to Rapid City to pick up their new CanAm side by side for Carmen so they have a new toy to hit the trails with!

I was reading Seeing America with Ken and Shirley the other day and was shocked at their picture of Lone Rock in Lake Powell. Those of you who are regular RV'ers probably know of this iconic landmark. Here is a picture of us camping and kayaking around Lone Rock in 2017.



Here's a picture Ken and Shirley took a week or so ago. 
If you look really closely, you can see rigs parked at the base of Lone Rock. 

Today we hit the trails with Jim and Carmen to put their new Can-Am to the test! 
We went from our place all the way up to Jewell Cave through some of the prettiest country you will see. These pictures just do not do it justice.



Checked out a mini cave. Who knows what is really down there!
4 1/2 hours and some 60+ miles later we made it back to Jim and Carmen's where we had to wash away the trail dust with a frosty beverage!

Barb, Carmen and I on a break
We received some sad news from our son-in-law out in Pennsylvania. Their 18-year-old dog ran away several days ago. Cash is a homebody and not one to run away so they knew something was up. He has been living on borrowed time for more than quite a while, with cancerous growths throughout his body. Shane said Cash was acting very weird the day he left. They found him two days later and he was in pretty rough shape. Sadly, it was Cash's time. We are happy that they found him so everyone could say goodbye and have some closure, but it is going to be a hard few weeks for everyone as they move on without Cash. The 18-year span of his life is longer than Shane and Jess have been married and has been a fixture in their 13- and 8-year-old children's lives since they were born. Our hearts go out to them. 
Cash as a pup

Cash and family this past August
Meanwhile at The Farm Bob, Chris and Dylan are adding 10 more bins, that's right 10 more bins. They had to pour a pad 18'x175'. These pictures just don't do it justice, 175' is a long way! Luckily, they had a big crew to help them get it done!

Now for this week's public service segment. For weeks I have had troubles leaving comments on Blogger blogs. It was always asking me to sign in to our Google account, comment as anonymous or enter our name and URL. Well, I did some research and found something that is working so far. Go to this link and follow the instructions and hopefully it will work for you as well. 

I also tried a couple different methods to have email notifications when we post a new blog. This of course, would only go out to people who signed up but so far, I have not found a fix. For whatever reason my "Email Posts To" feature is disabled. I tried the "Comment Notification Email" option and added my sisters email address. But as suspected she got an email every time someone commented resulting in 30+ emails in a couple days. I am trying another option this week and will let you know how it works.  

48 comments:

  1. Aging is a process, some do it gracefully and some struggle with it. The obvious solution to the shirt thing is to turn on a light and look for the tag since buttons can’t help. Of course keeping busy helps, ask Barb. Not that hunting isn’t work, of course it is, it requires skill and dedication, a keen eye and steady nerves, again, ask Barb ( I think read she usually gets the biggest deer.)
    Nice of you to help Kevin with his bunkie and the neighbour in picking up his newest toy. You are a busy fella. The workshop will be wonderful when you finish it, I’m sure you will make great use of it, if you can remember where it is!!
    Seriously though, I think you summed it up well, we reach an age that we know it’s time to relax and stop sweating the things that aren’t truly life altering, we realize we aren’t as sharp as we were and it takes longer to do things, find things, and remember things. It’s aging and you are doing it with style, grace and humour. Thank you for sharing.

    Deb

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    1. Well, that's another problem with getting old. I get up sometime between 4:30 and 5:30. I do not think Barb would appreciate me turning on the light.
      I am assured to get the biggest deer this year as she cannot pull her bow back due to her surgery!

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  2. Mentally I'm still pretty sharp but physically I need an overhaul, lol. At soon to be 65 years old by the end of this year, my knees are telling me maybe I need to have them looked at and replaced. When playing with grandson, the next day I complain of "grandma knees" from trying to keep up with him. I do stumble with the occasional word finding. I'm glad I'm still working because I need to keep the old brain working :) When we lived in New Mexico and had bird feeders, I always knew when a storm was coming. The birds would be at the feeders more those times before a storm. I like the variety of birds that come to visit you! And because we endured the hot summer, we are reaping the rewards with pleasant weather now. 82 degrees was mighty fine today! We are in that "between" season. Not having to run the AC or the heater. Loving it!

    betty

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    1. I seem to be aging equally with my mind and body. I guess that is a good thing. We notice the same thing with our birds and deer. It seems like they flock to the feeders just before a storm. It is interesting how they have this innate sense that a storm is on the way.

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  3. Welcome to growing older!! A good dose of humour certainly helps. I was told once that we don’t always forget things – sometimes we meet an alien in the other room and he erases our memory so we forget him (and anything else we were doing!) 😊
    Sorry to hear about Cash – the family will miss him for sure.
    Lake Powell is certainly suffering. I visited there in 2010 and again in 2014 and the drought effects were obvious then, so I’m rather sorry to see problems are still continuing. It is so easy to take rain for granted.

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    1. I must be abducted a lot! I wonder if they are probing my brain and taking parts out before they erase my brain of all memories.
      Hopefully we get a lot of snowfall in the Rockies this year which will then flow down the Colorado and eventually into Lake Powell.

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  4. Yup we certainly notice the difference, especially from 60 to 65. You did a great job of explaining it. :)

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    1. So, you are saying the next 5 years is going to be even better? Oh boy.....

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  5. I am glad that I am not the only one feeling the effects of time. Since you are forgetting things, I will have to remind you more often that you still owe me a case of beer. With interest, it's more like a case and a six pack. To keep my mind sharp, I watch a lot of Family Feud and Wheel of Fortune. They know their audience. Things look great as always.

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    1. Who are you? I vaguely remember a drunken cripple in Minnesota, but I know nothing about owning this person a case of beer!

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  6. When Skruffy was real sick when we were in Alaska, I would take her for a walk around the RV park and come back telling Marcia, "Skruffy is looking for a place to wonder off to in order to die..." Thank goodness she did not and we had her for another 3 1/2 years.

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    1. It is weird how dogs do that. We've never had a dog run away to pass but we did have one get doggie dementia and become very aggressive. It was very sad as he seemed perfectly healthy but just turned crazy.

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  7. It's a good thing you have Barb there to keep you in check. I'm MUCH older than you ... could almost be your mother ... and I have "almost" no memory problems. If I did, I don't remember them. The trick is to keep that blood flowing ... missing a nice big buck, Barb beating you at card games, Barb getting the BIGGEST buck .. things like that will get your heart racing and your blood flowing so you will remember better!!! Good luck with that and yes, I remember you promising that case of beer!!!

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    1. Owing Dino a case of beer? Barb getting the biggest buck? Now I think you might be hallucinating!

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  8. Funny you should mention the shirt; Diana just informed me that mine is inside out. Pullover hoodies have always been a challenge for me, too. And Dino knows my struggles with potato chip bags…probably why your housewrap ended up upside down. :). We’ve all seen the movie, and it doesn’t end well. With that being said, I’ll quote my friend Jerry: “This is NOT a dress rehearsal, people”, referring to our one chance at living life to the fullest. Gotta keep looking forward, looking for the next experience or opportunity.

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    1. I think we've been doing a fairly good job at living life to its fullest. We are not ready to give it up yet, lots of great years ahead of us!

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  9. You describe aging perfectly. Sigh. We just keep going…

    My husband went moose hunting once in central Newfoundland with a friend. Hard work! He didn’t even consider ever going again.

    I don’t know why a blogger is so hard to navigate!

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    1. I think I've got at least one good moose hunt left in me. Especially if I brought some younger hunters to help me out!

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  10. Ah yes, the challenge of aging gracefully! I too blog mostly to look back and see all we've done and seen - so many I would have already forgotten if not captured there! That pic at Lake Powell is so sad - and yet down river new golf courses are being built :-( Looking pretty chilly there, glad you have plenty to keep you busy indoors.

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    1. If this keeps up, they are going to seriously restrict water usage above and below Lake Powell.

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  11. Blogger quit supporting email notifications several months ago. The only free solution I found was “follow.it” This isn’t as good or easy as the old way but it does work. Wish I could give you detailed instructions but I long since forgot how I added it to our blog.

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    1. I've never heard of Follow It, I'll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing!

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  12. I'm 75 and hubs is 78. Trust me....you are doing fine. At 60 you are still a youngster. It was only a couple years we realized we couldn't multitask anymore. So we don't even try. You keep on keeping on, just at a slower pace.

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    1. Good to hear! Barb and I have actually embraced every year that we have gotten older as you never know when this one is your last!

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  13. I think in our working lives you’re always on and focused. Now that we’re retired not so much, we’ve experienced all that you’ve mentioned too. Getting dressed in the dark I’ve discovered my T-shirt or underwear on backwards, but hey…it was dark!🤪 You guys always seem to have never ending projects! Looks like some great riding area there! Thanks for the tip on the Google Account…so tired of the Anonymous when commenting on blogger. Gave it a try on my IPad and didn’t work. 😩
    S. Colibaba

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    1. I don't know what we would do without our projects. Travel more? Explore the hills some more? I know we will find something to fill our time. I cannot wait to find out!
      I went to use my computer this morning and I was anonymous again! I did the fix again so we will see if it sticks this time.

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  14. I made the unfortunate decision to discuss my memory, similar to how you tell it, to my doctor. She was not concerned. Unfortunately 6 months later my life insurance expired and when I tried to renew and they reviewed my medical records they declined me for my memory issues!! I am 69 and my doctor told me that whatever I'm doing just continue to do, as my health looks good. Guess I'll just self insure and continue living life!!!

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    1. We don't have any life insurance, but that is good information to know. Everything you tell your doctor is pretty much public record to the insurance companies. Hopefully they don't read blogs!

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  15. Love the comment beginning from "On a Long and Lonesome Highway! She nailed it...Ask Barb!! Too funny! Barb will love the new work shop your building for her. So sorry to hear about Cash. That will be a tough one for the family especially the kids since Cash had always been around.

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    1. I am sure that Shane, Jess and the kids are missing Cash a lot. We are very familiar with the hole losing a pet can leave. This is the first time that the kids have had to deal with a loss like this. Cash and Shane were very close as well. Jess, she will miss Cash as well but deals with death on an almost weekly basis and understands it is part of life. It is going to take some time for them to heal but as we all know, life goes on and things slowly come back to normal.

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  16. RIP Cash. Me have a friend who is an avid deer hunter and has been trying to convince my husband to join him. But the way he describes it which he obviously enjoys sounds like the opposite of fun. To each there own.

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    1. To me, there is not much better than sitting in the forest and watching nature, relaxing and contemplating life. The off chance that a shooter buck should wander into range is just a bonus!

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  17. It’s Gay…you are a Barb are just babies! Joe turns 76 this week and I will be 72 in March. Enjoy your 60s…the best years of my life! And it’s OK to forget things! So sorry to read about Cash. And I am still looking forward to seeing Barb’s headboard. And now I will add the finished workshop to the list. You have great birds…

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    1. You might have to wait a few weeks to see the finished workshop, the weather warmed up and I moved back outside. But Barb should have the headboard done by the end of the week!

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  18. The one part of aging that really bugs me is going into a room for a reason and not remembering the reason! How does that happen when it's only a few feet away :) Oh well. Love the workshop you're building! Barb's headboard looks awesome so far, can't wait to see it finished! Someone in this household is very jealous of all that concrete being poured! Now that's an awesome looking side by side for Carmen!

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    1. When I am working, I will set something down for literally a minute or two and not know where I set it down. I am still looking for an air chuck that I set down 3 days ago. We are very thankful for having everything concreted, it makes everything so clean.

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  19. Loosing a pet is always sad and hopefully your grandkids will have some other animal there to love and hug. Hey, what is all that nonsense of getting forgetful as we grow older and have pains and pinches folks, lets focus, be active and don't let the old man/woman in. Btw would have loved to see more photos of the trip to Jewell Cave with your ATVs and bet it was a ton of fun.

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    1. The Jewell Cave adventure was a lot of fun and likely our last one for a while. Forecasted high for Thursday is just above freezing!

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  20. Yep, I just realized I hadn't seen anything from you in a bit and came over to check things out. I sure miss the reliable email notifications, but it's all the Blogger blogs now. Ughhhh.

    Sorry about the getting older thing. Everyone feels it at whatever age they're at. Some day you'll be 80 thinking "I remember when I was 60, I could..." It sucks, but the alternative sucks even worse.

    Stay well.

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    1. We are relatively active compared to most people we know our age and plan to continue along that same path. We are just trying to fight Father Time at every click of the clock.

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  21. Thanks for trying to get your posts out. Perhaps have a look at "Follow It". I of course did not receive this post. So sorry about Cash. The before and after photos of Lone Rock do tell a story about what is happening in our world. Good essay on the struggles of getting older. Please do another one in 5 years and another in 10 years and then re read this one. You are to be admired about how much you get done.

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    1. So good to have you back! Hope your computer issues are behind you. It would be interesting to go back and read this post in 5 and 10 years to see what has changed!

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  22. oooooh getting old, i think i could have written that part of your post. the hubs likes to tell a funny one, i'm not sure i can include it here. 2 older people, decide to have $ex, get naked, go upstairs and can't remember what they are doing in the room. she says to hubby "what are we doing and for god's sake, get your clothes on"!!

    sorry to hear about cash, they are members of the family!!

    i can't wait to see the headboard!!! i have the same issue with blogger!!

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    1. Now, that's funny! Let's hope it never gets to that point but who knows! It looks like you might have to wait another week to see the headboard unless Barb gets real busy today.

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  23. Boy do I hear you on the "getting older" stuff.....no choice though because the alternatives are not attractive! Thanks for the info. on the blogger issue. People have told me they have problems commenting also and that they don't get notifications anymore. sheesh. The Lone Rock picture is sobering, I wonder what's ahead. Sorry to hear about old Cash. Even though he had a good long run, they never stay long enough. sigh.

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    1. Sadly, it does not seem like my fixes are working. They seemed to work for the day that I did them, but everything reverted back to anonymous the next day or the next time I logged in. I will keep playing with it so see what I can figure out.

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  24. Sometimes I go back to your blog snd my lists aren’t there. Either I’m actually forgetting to hit “post” or you’re blacklisting me :-(. I get the old thing too. I told you about Follow It s s hike back and you said it was working? Not really sure if it’s working for me either. I hate that you can’t call someone for an answer.

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    1. You certainly are not being blacklisted! I am not sure what is going on. I looked into Follow It but did not sign up for it. I will detail what seems to be working for me in the next post.

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