Saturday 12 December 2015

Help!!! I've Arrived at Old Almost Overnight!

Gentle Reader ~~~ with deepening concern over the past few months, I have to accept that I am getting old. I don't feel old, in fact there is a raging twenty something, or maybe she's a thirty something these days, on the loose inside this decades older body of mine ready to party hearty and boogie all night long. {preferably to Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet and dressed as a New Romantic as I did back in the day when the intensity of hangover was commensurate to how good a time was had}  ~~~ in my dreams, or maybe these days in my nightmares!

I won't give in, I am not old, at least not until another grey hair or wrinkle arrives; or a muscle is pulled while washing the dishes; or arthritis starts to twinge as I turn a page of a book; or particular genre of television shows seems suddenly unappealing, or even begin to show more than a passing interest in Songs of Praise or the Royal Variety Show {I've always loved Mastermind and Gardener's World, so they don't count in my case}; I'm no longer adverse to a quick forty winks on a Sunday afternoon; and now I look in utter horror at how the youth of today walk around scantily clad even in the depths of winter; I whinge about change ~~~ None of these mean I'm getting old, do they? ~~~but then a few weeks ago, as night time temperatures started to drop, the evil spawn of a cruel and painful thought crept into my unsuspecting, possibly napping for a moment, brain.  My guard had slipped and in came the thought, barrelling it's way into my normally very secure and sound reasoning youthful mind ~~~ a thought so dreaded and feared that resistance is futile.

Have you noticed how the country is being run by pre~adolescents and teenagers?  I swear the policeman plodding the beat the other day was a Boy Scout.

To me, getting old means a lot of things, none of which I feel I have experienced or achieved yet, so don't take any notice of the last paragraph! 'Old' is what my Grandmother was when I was a small child, yet in reality she was just a few years older than I am now. You wore a twin set and pearls before they became fashionable vintage items; you wore your Sunday Best if you were going 'to town' for the day; you had a quarterly perm and a weekly shampoo and set because both were de rigeuer, and a blue rinse if your hair was white or silver; you wore make up only if going out for an evening; you listen to 'old' music {okay, maybe I have that one under my belt}; you became less active; you watched "Coronation Street" because you related to Ena Sharples and Minnie Cauldwell and found Uncle Albert attractive in a worrisome way {although today, admittedly, Corrie and Eastenders appeal across the generations, and I do not watch soaps at all}; you go to bed earlier, you get up later; you go to Day Centres where there are 'suitable activities for the elderly'; Bingo was not a fashionable gambling activity that everyone played but the domain of the elderly in those Day Centres; your slippers were tartan with turn up ankles and red pompoms; you tut tut tutted the 'younger generation' saying things such as "In my day ~~~" {yikes, maybe I also have that one on under my belt too}; you sucked on boiled sweets and enjoyed jellies {soft fruit sweets, not those dreadfully uncomfortable plastic shoes}, a 'night on the town' meant a Port and Lemon or a small, sweet sherry in the Snug at the local pub, never the main bar, and only if in the company of friends, never alone.

I never gave getting old more than a passing thought every once in a blue moon ~~~

So, there I was, happy as Larry {whoever Larry is} first thing this morning over visiting on Guillaume's Vraie Fiction {which I implore you go and take a look, using this link, to see a most beautiful picture of early morning England} and having a moment or two to spare I hopped along to Octoberfarm following my curiosity to find out what exactly is an Inside~out Ravioli only to discover that the author addresses a similar feeling. Things that only seem to happen when we are OLD ~~~ you can read her story too, following the link and I think some of you will relate to it too: you have been warned!

So, what was it that happened to me to bring on this sudden awareness that I am old?  {speaks in whispers}

I like to read in bed.  Now, that is nothing new, for as a teenager I was listening to Radio Luxembourg or Radio Caroline while I read Bunty or later on Jackie. However, two years ago a tiny doubt about getting old crept in when I treated myself to one of those big, fluffy, supporting, triangular cushions to give me more comfort than just a pile of pillows while propped up reading into the wee small hours ~~~ it did not go unnoticed by my brain that this was not something I would expect a "young" person to own and use, much less be as thrilled with it's presence and usefulness. However, all thoughts were quickly dispelled as I snuggled into the incredibly comfortable hug given by the generously amply pillow that wrapped itself around me offering such support to my back, neck, and arms.  Suddenly, this became one of my best purchases ever. I had been very silly to think as I had done. Hadn't I?

Time passes, and with that thought gone, I was a happy bunny, warm, relaxed, and completely cosy, as I wandered through the realms of alternate realities with the amiable, sometimes not so amiable, companions and adventures provided by my choices of reading material ~~~

Until earlier this month when the night time temperatures started to drop to a chilly, late Autumn average. Now this is not a new thing, it happens at some point around this time every year. Except. This year that dreaded thought of the most dreaded thoughts arrived ~~~ late at night when your guard is down and the black shadows prowl outside your window sometimes sneaking in between your ears, and the wind moans like a banshee down the chimney, and the rafters are creaking wildly as rain lashes against the window panes, and you find yourself nodding, half awake, half asleep, into your hot cocoa drink

~~~POP!!!~~~

There it was ~~~ there it came ~~~ from nowhere ~~~ that tiny voice that whispers in the night ~~~

"Wouldn't it be lovely to have a nice, cosy 
BED JACKET!!!"

That's it. My youthful days are over. No point in trying to disguise the fact that I am not that far away from my Free Bus Pass {of course, much is happening in local government and the qualifying age may well be upped, or the Free Bus Pass even done away with before I get there} I have become my Grandmother. Next stop, Marks and Spencer {I'm too old now, I can no longer call it Magic and Sparkle} to the bed jacket department it is, no longer can I hold my head high and walk into River Island or even Dotty P's ~~~ I'm holding off, for a while at least, on the tartan slippers with pom poms and thankfully, I still don't care for Sherry!

You'd be amazed how toasty warm it is sitting in bed still reading at one o'clock in the morning wearing an old sweatshirt ~~~ maybe I can postpone the bed jacket and impending old age for a few more years then?

Until next time ~~~

Sincerely yours
Deborah xoxo



27 comments:

  1. I can't read in bed, hurts my back to sit like that, but did rescue one of those triangle pillows from late mums house,which has now been moved round the house/airing cupboard for years.I have no idea how it will fit in a box when we move. Because of not reading in bed I have no need to think about bed jackets so can remain feeling young forever!!( except for the creaking knees, the failing eyesight, going deaf in one ear etc)

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    1. Lol! Maybe I should get audio books then I wouldn't have to sit up to read and wouldn't need a bed jacket either!
      I'm sure you can find a big enough box when the time comes.

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  2. This post has brought a smile to my face, I could almost visualise it, I am still under 50 but somedays I feel like 70 when my bones ache, other days I feel like a teenager still x

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  3. Isn't the stereotypical view of old age strange?
    When my sister worked in a care home she always commented on the choice of music played to the residents. It was always songs from the war time period. If my mum was still alive she would be touching 90 by now and always preferred Queen to Vera Lynn.

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    1. I go into old age with my iPod playing anything I want to listen too. I love Vera Lynn, but would pick Queen any day over the Dame!

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  4. LOL Well, you are in good company. I am getting to like my polar fleecy bed jacket. It is kind of fashionable with my new flowery pjs.
    Tonight I won't need it, as Winter is deciding not to come and early October is back. 76 degrees here. I did get into the garden today.
    Hugs,
    Margot

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    1. Love the sound of your flowery pjs. Same here, the seasons are all out of whack, unseasonably warm one day and below average the next. Deb :)

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  5. Oh, this made me laugh! Can honestly say from your blog I thought you were still very young, so you obviously have a youthful spirit, wedge pillow notwithstanding. And for Sue Garrett - my mom is nearing 90, and no Queen for her -- but yep, I'll be a rock n' roller till the end! :-) jenmiller

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    1. I am often told I have a youthful approach to life, and thank you. If I've made people laugh, then mission accomplished!

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  6. Hey, wait a minute here...I have had a bed jacket for years. Does that mean I'm...(gasp)?????

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    1. Oh, my dear friend, in that case, you are a lost cause {lol}
      Deb xoxo

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  7. Dearest Debs,
    I had so much fun reading this post! OLD???? Like the time I was propped up in bed, turning pages with one hand and the other hand holding up my head so I could read. I happened to glance down at the arm that was vertical and holding up my head and thought, quite aghast, who the hell's arm is that!! Holding your arm in that position shows a lot of wrinkles!
    I have a very dear friend in Ohio...MUCH MUCH younger whose solution to aging is simply do not look into mirrors or windows, where you might see a reflection! Period! done! Her joints probably haven't started to ache when any weather change is on the horizon!
    I just returned from a trip to Ohio with my 92 year old mother....and I swear she is in better shape than I!
    It is what it is. Just keep marching forward dear Deb!
    Your friend in West Texas...where it has been in the 80's....very strange!
    Chris W.

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    1. Never, ever leave your house without make up for that is the day you will catch a reflection in a shop mirror and say "poor old soul" then the reaction sets in as you realise it is you!!! Yeppers, that is exactly what happened to me! lol Your friend has the right approach to this.
      Marching forward with you ~~~ Deb xo

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  8. I'm grinning ear to ear on this one, Deb. How does it happen? I haven't a clue. I'm way ahead of you as I'm already there. We will continue to fight it till the end! xoxo ♥

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    1. How does it happen? I think it has to do with the distraction of life until that moment we pause to think ~~~ moral of this tale? Don't pause to think! Deb xoxo

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  9. My body has been telling me for quite a while that I am old, although my mind and even my age don't agree. Arthritis has not been kind to me. I remember using old bed jackets to play dress up as a child. We played with some very lovely feminine ones. The idea of a warm and cozy one is actually very nice. I live in the Midwest of the US where winters can be brutal. Think of it as being snuggily and warm, not old! Stay cozy!!

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    1. Isn't it funny how, as children we all want to be older, but then "older" arrives and oh! how we'd long to be young again. My Mum has a really cosy blue fleece bed jacket which looks more and more attractive a proposition daily as the temperatures slide. I hope I don't stoop to stealing it! lol

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  10. Deb,
    I had this post bookmarked to read later and that later is now and I certainly needed a good laugh now...LOL! Alright, is a "bed jacket" kind of like a robe? No one here refers to any nightie clothing as bed jackets so I am lost:-) I am only 51 but do feel much older some days. I have a degenerative nerve disease that hits me hard and my mind tells me I am still a vibrant, get it done yesterday 30 yo, but the body says I am now 80 and deserve to be in a rest home...LOL! I have been worried about you , I even contacted Marie this am, my time and asked if she has heard from you. I noticed you deactivated FB and we miss ya on Take Peace. I hope no offense has occurred there? You let me know straight away if so and I will fix it! Do shoot me an email or if you want to just tell me here your good, that would be sweet.
    Much love,
    Suzanne
    email: Taketimefortea@comcast.net

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    1. Hello Suzanne ~ lovely to see you and thank you for stopping by!
      A bed jacket is a short, loose fitting jacket usually with one button or a ribbon fastening that was worn by, usually bedridden, elderly ladies in bed to keep them warm. In some ways, they became synonymous with 'little old ladies'. Often very fussy and frilly, they have long been out of fashion. However, of late, they are making a bit of a comeback in modern fabric such as fleece. Wear a sweatshirt to bed to keep warm and I'm fine with it but call it a bed jacket and I'm not! lol
      I'll be in touch re: FB but rest easy that it is nothing anyone on Take Peace has said or done.
      Hugs, Deb xoxo

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  11. I bought myself a bed jacket when my first child was born. I think they're great. I love reading in bed and can easily spend 2 hours back in bed in the morning with my coffee, journal, and devotionals. My best story writing is done in bed in the morning. As a child I remember my grandmother telling me her mother loved her bed, too. I think I inherited the sitting in bed gene from her.

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    1. Oh, now I do envy you that ability to stay in bed in the morning. Once I am awake that is it, I have to be up. It is a rare day that I lie in bed even for just an extra ten minutes. Funny how the gene has jumped so many generations.

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  12. I don't feel old... Until I look at my greying temples and then yes it feels like I am not getting any younger.

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  13. Oh, my creative friend! Why not design and stitch up a unique Deb-style bed jacket ~ one like no other? You might start a whole new trend!! Warm hugs, dear Deb! ♡

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    1. A good idea in theory, but the kind of creative textile work I do wouldn't be very comfortable as a bed jacket. :)

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  14. Wonderful post! I find that a great alternative to the bedjacket is a trendy crochet shawl! Sitting up in bed with one tossed casually (but ever so fashionably!) around shoulders is Bohemian, but never 'old'! It's all about attitude LOL

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