Saturday, July 21, 2007

As I grow older...

Any intelligent adult knows he isn't going to be on this earth forever. And yet, most people under forty don't think about it often. And a young person doesn't have any idea how age can weaken a body, and slow it down. Who knew all those old people were right when they told us how much our bodies would hurt in later life? Finally, the jokes about going to sleep with Arthur (ritis) and waking up with Ben (Gay) make sense.

These last few years, especially in the fifteen months since Cliff's heart surgery, there's an urgency about life, a sense of do-what-you-can-while-you're-able.

My knees hurt terribly when I ride my horse for over an hour. This simply reminds me that I may not always be able to ride, and I ride all the more because of it. And dismount limping and wincing with pain.

Cliff used to be a stickler for keeping his vehicles, including riding mowers and tractors, spotlessly clean. Lately, not so much. The reason? Every time it's nice enough to wash vehicles, it's also good enough weather to ride the motorcycle. It's not uncommon for one of us to say to the other, "We won't be able to ride forever."

There are so many things that, if we're ever going to do them, need to be done now. When we're not limited by time or money, we're doing our best to get to them all.

I've spent three nights at the cabin this week. That's something I could do for several years yet, but we won't always be able to keep up with these 40 acres; and when the place goes, the cabin, of course, will go with it.

Cliff wants to spend all the time here on the place "while he can". I would like to travel a bit, while I can. This is one thing we can't seem to quite get together on. If I had worked all my life and saved money, I'd just go on those bus tours I've read about. Alas, they're priced out of my range. I'm still thinking on a workable solution. For instance, I can fly down and visit my snow-bird sister in Texas for a few days in winter. And I have a good friend near Washington, DC, who's given me a standing invitation to visit.

Meanwhile, there's always the horse and the motorcycle. I'll ride while I can!


Thanks to Midlife Mom for the two awards. I'm not so sure I'm deserving, but I'll take any accolades I can get.

4 comments:

  1. congrats on the awards!

    the last 2 years, I have really noticed myself aging :(

    I never noticed before, I think it's all the gray hair starting to multiply and all those old injuries aching more....

    dammit.

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  2. Donna, this may sound strange, but see if you have a friend with an English saddle who would be willing to lend it to you for a week. English saddles give you better contact with your horse, and the stirrups are much easier on the knees. If you see an improvement and want to invest in one, go for the Tucker. You'll be able to ride all day. I know so many people who are afraid to part with the horn, but once they took a test drive they never looked back.

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  3. Guy, I've dreamed of owning a Tucker saddle for a couple of years. I'm afraid I would never be able to make myself spend more on a saddle than I did on my horse, though. :-D

    I have been thinking for some time about buying a used English saddle, if for no other reason than the weight. The old Circle Y I use now is very heavy for an old gal like me to lift.

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  4. Every time I get off my horse I say to my friend Ann, "this is going to hurt!" and it does! I hate these changes to my body but I guess we are all in the same boat.
    You are certainly deserving of the awards, your posts are great!!

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