Old Ladies

 

Die Alte Frau - Balthasar Denner

This isn't me - Yet.

Generally speaking I don't feel old. My face in the morning is definitely sagging a bit & more wrinkled. (I had to have a photo done on my phone yesterday for a visa - It didn't look like the me who is inhabits my head!) My skin generally is flabbier, covered with age spots & has lost it's youthful bloom. I can't dance or run anymore, but I can swim half a mile 4 or 5 times a week. I don't think I dress in either Granny clothes or like "mutton dressed as lamb" - at least I really hope not.

But as the weeks & years seem to shorten, my capacities seem to dwindle. I need to practice Kegel Exercises & if you don't know what those are for you are fortunate. There seems to be a lot more effort involved in doing quite ordinary things. Kneeling & getting up again is an art lost to me. It would be really nice to be able to remember where I recently put something. I would quite like to be able to hold a conversation & recall all the words I want to use. Also to hear people speaking above other noises off. (Yes, I have got a hearing aid).

But, generally speaking I feel that I am quite fortunate & I hope that shows in my expression. I hope I smile & laugh more often than I have a similar expression to Die Alte Frau. It's all too easy to be negative about people & things & life in general. I think that general displeasure shows in your expression. Then there is a knock on effect in how other people perceive you & react to you.

So a smile begats a smile & a frown begats a frown. (That's not to say that I'm not capable of having a good old moan about something though - but it's better out than in!)