My Uncle was right..It's hell to get old!
Don't even get me started on the gray hair.. |
Everyday I wake up and think WHEW! Made it! Another night of restful sleep...ummm maybe not. It seems my dreams get crazier and more detailed all the time. Sometimes they are scary, and I wake up with my heart racing. Crazy CRAZY I tell you! Snakes..roses..earthquakes..weird houses..some of which I think oh yeah..saw that on Facebook. BUT..most make no sense at all.
I roll over and cuddle next to Cliffy, who I figure probably wants to wake up and hear all about it. Well...maybe in the morning. At least I can cuddle with him until I get the nonsense outta my brain and doze back off. Or not, and I just lay there..changing positions 50 times..leg in..leg out...blankets on, blankets off..window up..window down..electric blanket on, well...you get the picture. A solid 8 hours sleep is clearly a luxury now and I have to get used to that fact.
So..rise and shine I do, ' cuz, I'm nothing if not cheerful. However, the rate of the aforementioned "rising and shining" has dropped dramatically. First, I have to extract my legs from between the warm dog bodies framing my body. Big Doob in the middle, and Molly on the outer edge. So, I have to pull my knees clear up to my chest and roll out to the edge of my bed. Just like that, my morning leg lifts are done. Always glad to get the exercise out of the way!
I plunk my feet on the floor and do my assessment. How do the ankles feel? Knees? I sit there and ponder a few minutes, and I'd like to say I'm deep in meditation or praying or something profound like that. However, it is much more likely that I am stalling until I hear the fire started in the kitchen stove and the coffee perking away. I'm old..not stupid!
You've heard of Custer's last stand?? Well, it is now time for Carmen's first stand. Often, for whatever reason, my first stand of the day is accompanied by my mind singing a line from the old sea chantey "Drunken Sailor". ( Didn't I tell you my mind has been doing it's own thing lately?)
Yep, as I stand up and stretch, that little voice in my brain chimes in with a rousing "WEIGH HEY AND UP SHE RISES, EARLY IN THE MORNING!!" My mind can be so obnoxious, I swear.
So, I stretch, head for the bathroom, clothes in hand. My activity level of the day before has a direct bearing on how fast a trip I make. If I was busy and active, I am like a granny nightgown clad snail, dunked in molasses. Now that's slow. If I am not particularly stiff, I am like a granny clad 100 year old Galapagos tortoise, speeding along. You get the picture..not fast.
I get dressed, wash up, and head out to the kitchen, where Cliffy is having a coffee and patiently awaiting my arrival. We have our daily coffee and write in the diary, while the previous days events are still fresh in our minds, and then we start the days work.
That wood ain't stacking itself.. |
There I am taking down old fence...oh wait.. |
We had an old pellet stove out here in the barn that weighed a bloody ton. I was all for getting it to the dump already, and everyone else likely to be involved seemed to think it was "fine" where it was. One day I commandeered the crew to clean the barn..the crew being Cameron, Liam, Nolan and Cliff. I said "lets get that thing loaded and out of here". They looked at me like I had three heads but at the ages of 14, 18, 26 and 76, they have learned I can be stubborn.
So, Cliff backed his truck up, and the four of them muscled it with lots of "guidance" from me, and got it up into the back of the truck. Then I did my "share" of the job..I grabbed the broom and swept up where it had been. SEE! Many hands make light work..an expression I use often and frankly, I think everyone hates.
There I am cleaning attic..oh wait.. |
There I am polishing the stove..oh wait... |
There I am painting in the bedroom..oh, wait.. |
Looking forward to your book...hint! hint! :)
ReplyDeleteLove your stories! A book would be great!
ReplyDelete