There’s a phrase we use in Trinidad which goes “Yuh aging like fine wine” and we all know that the older wine is the better it tastes.
As complementary as that may be and I accept it graciously this ‘fine wine’ process is not at all glamourous.
Stage 1 included my eyesight. Up until December 30th 2012, I was seeing perfectly. I could read fine print, read my text messages in the phone’s default font and read a menu with ease. As if in an instant when I turned 40, somehow the words became blurry and I had to position whatever I was reading away from me and adjust my head downwards to read. I eventually conceded and got reading glasses which if I forget anywhere,….it’s all over.
On the topic of forgetting, I used to be able to be interrupted in mid-sentence and regain my thought process immediately. Not anymore. If I am interrupted while speaking, I may as well move on to another topic.
Going to the cupboard to retrieve something used to be a simple task. Now I just end up getting something else because I totally forgot what I originally went for. As if that’s not bad enough, I often put my phone in my bag and minutes later I find myself scrambling thinking I lost it. To top it off I do not remember persons’ names, not just anyone, often times it’s people I have known for years. I think it’s called brain fog and they say it’s temporary (how long is temporary again?)
I once heard Wanda Sykes say that she used to walk with extra underwear in case she got lucky but now she walks with one in case she has an accident. I laughed when I heard that joke but that is now my reality. If I cough, sneeze, skip or jump I spring a leak. And God forbid I don’t make to the bathroom in time… Now when I have to go, I HAVE TO GO!!!
And here’s the one that really gets me….it’s those morning pains. Yes, that pain you get when you try to spring out of bed. And I mean not just your back it’s all those parts below your waist though. What is that about??
Don’t get me wrong, I love getting older. There’s a sense of liberation I feel when I say, “I’m a grown woman”, which to me is a profound statement. This newfound wisdom I have acquired (almost overnight it seems) is overwhelming. Suddenly I know things and people seek me out for advice.
Perhaps my favourite part is just not caring what people think. That opinion you have of me, or my pink and green outfit doesn’t faze me in the least anymore. Get over it! And even while I try to navigate these changes to my body, I am grateful to be alive, in good health and to make a contribution to the world. And if that is what makes me “fine wine” well “ah taking dat!”