The advantages of being older

Wonderful Honey, so true! I love the fact that people are willing to find me a chair in a shop. Also, if I’m holding a walking stick on a staircase (which I sometimes take for uneven walks) most folk will stand aside to allow me to pass 🙂.

Basically, we simply care less about appearances, and will happily go to the supermarket in our gardening togs. Do you know the Jenny Joseph poem? It begins “When I am old I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn’t go ...”

The only way of not getting old is to die young, and that's no good. Now that I'm an older person I am happier, more confident, and have more experience of life. It's much better :)
I don't feel the need to apologise for having so many plants in my garden … and for buying more !
I don't make excuses for not liking rugby. I just don't like it so that's that.
If people think I'm odd I don't care :)

However, there are drawbacks -
I have painful knees,
ibs,
blurry vision,
difficulty hearing properly,
tire easily,
forget what I'm doing in the middle of doing it,
forget wat I'm saying in the middle of saying it …

I'm becoming an old crock but I plod on, and I am grateful that I'm not worse than I am - I could be like Beryl - disabled and needing help with almost everything there is. It's a good job I am as I am so that I can help her. I am grateful for that :)

I agree Meadowland that sight is the one thing that I would dread to lose. OK I have arthritis, but it just means it takes longer to do things and that's another advantage of old age, I'm retired so have time to 'stand and stare' and rest my back. Amazing what you see when you don't have to dash off to work!

I do know the poem Sheila, my daughter has always been a 'purple' person and used to find it really difficult to find anything in purple. Now of course it is everywhere so she is happy. I was reading in an old gardening mag., about if people say they have gardening clothes, they probably aren't a gardener! I have clothes which I wear and clothes for posh days. My ordinary clothes I garden in, dash to shop, hedge and ditch and do everything else in, posh ones tend to stay in the wardrobe!

I agree with you Hywel, being older means you do have more confidence and are happier, having got to the point where you don't have to strive to get a better way of life (so they say) and are content.
My daughter thinks I'm odd and points out outlandish clothes that she says are 'Mummy clothes', but who cares? I hate sport too and have given up pretending to my OH that I am interested, as for plants if someone doesn't like what I grow in my garden they don't have to look at it.
Shame about the aches and pains, I can empathise with you about all your all your drawbacks and agree that we could always be a lot worse, so I am grateful to get to old age without too much hassle.

That’s quite funny - I remember reading the article about gardening clothes and thought the writer had got it wrong. Surely no-one would buy clothes specifically for gardening?! I just wear things that I’ve had for ages, and which don’t matter when they get dirty.

Aren't garden clothes the ones that are too worn out to go to the charity shop?

I was told by an optician that I had Cataracts and if I didnt have the operation my driving licence would be stopped.
Went to the Eye Clinic, told I only had one in one eye.
Started having flaked steamed Carrots every lunchtime with whatever I am having for my dinner. That was 2 years ago. Eyesight much clearer now. Told my GP she roared with laughter but made no comment, so I didnt know what the joke was.

I also have a quarter teaspoon of Turmeric Spice on mashed Baked Beans on a Ryvita with poached egg for my breakfast every day. All Arthritic pain gone.
Just have Adcal calcium tablets twice a day so dont cost
the NHS much.
Recommend.

Andrew . . . exactly, and the two sweaters both have massive holes :)

Sheila - and aren't they the most comfortable clothes you own?

They are certainly the most comfortable clothes I own. They are full of rips and have patches. One pair of jeans has patches on the patches, and my old fleece has a broken zip so I fasten it together with a row of safety pins !

You would think that no-one buys 'gardening clothes' Sheila but then you think of the posh wellies, quilted jerkins and such like that are sported by some TV presenters and think that's what is thought of as country gardening clothes. Might be for the upper crust who inhabit an estate and don't actually do the work, only supervise, the rest of us, the wellies are muddy and the jumpers plucked!

I agree Andrew that by the time even I decide that my clothes aren't fit to garden in, the only answer is the bonfire, definitely not the charity shop - even for rags! OH looks with scorn on some of the items that I use for gardening, but a jacket that has been literally through a hawthorn hedge, will have rips and tears (and the odd bloodstain perhaps) but what's the point of starting on another jacket?

Comfort is definitely the most important consideration when gardening Hywel, especially as I do a lot of mine sitting down weeding and shoving a barrow full of compost off the field needs stout footwear, not fashion.

I had heard that tumeric was supposed to be good for arthritis Goldenoldie9, but have never tried it, so now I shall. And who's to suggest that carrots are not good for your eyes? Vitamin A is the point of all that and that certainly helps your eyesight - so more carrots too now I have looked it up.

What would you like to put that down to Meadowland? Are talking forgetfulness or not bothered, just proves that you work hard and if they are friends they will understand.

Thats the way to do it Honeysuckle. Allow 4 or 5 days for
the Turmeric Spice to be effective, then the freedom from
pain is wonderful.
Two seperate G.P.s told me there was no treatment and no cure for Arthritis. Only Paracetomols and operations. It was a shock. I had never known anything so wicked, they obviously knew about Turmeric Spice. I was told by an Osteopath that they are only allowed to prescribe treatments on the Drug Company lists. Will never trust them again.
That all happened a year ago. I see the Drug Companies are now making Turmeric capsules but someone said they are not as effective as the spice in the kitchen cupboard.

Happy birthday Julia!

Happy birthday from me too!
This blog is a joy - so many people all speaking my language! Nice to think of you all in unspeakable trousers and muddy wellies.
One advantage of being old that nobody mentioned is not having to go out to work every day. No matter how much you enjoyed your job, being able to sleep in if you feel tired, stay in a comfy chair if you feel a bit poorly, potter round outside if the day's fit...I have my share of bodily decay but still wouldn't swap!

Belated Happy Birthday Meadowland and I hope that the meal went well and you had a good time. I do try to forget my Birthdays, but perhaps I should celebrate that I have got this far and in reasonable health. I liked your last bit of the blog "raring to go", such pictures it conjures!

Yes, I forgot to mention Stera, the not going out to work bit and I agree that it's good to be able to just slump into a chair if you feel like it. Way back in my youth it was considered a waste of time if you weren't actually doing something (Father had a smallholding), so if I was indoors (doing nothing) I would sit with a duster in my hand in case he came in - when I would leap to my feet (could do that then) and pretend to dust! That guilt complex stayed with me into middle-age and I still find myself explaining to OH why I am sitting down and for how long I have been doing it - not that he cares if I lay on the settee all day, but old habits die hard!

Interesting comments from all. The idea that one should always be doing something harks back I think to the Puriton / Calvanistic times when one should always be working & doing something constructive.However it is very good for us to do absolutely nothing sometimes & relax, empty the mind & perhaps meditate, whatever. (sometimes I sits & thinks, & sometimes I just sits)!
I can identify with many of the things mentioned, especially forgetting what I was doing/or saying, in middle.
I know that poem too, but as yet I am still bothered about what I go outside wearing & have to have a complete wash, brush up & change of clothes,& put my face on, even to go across the road to the garage! Must be mad. My gardening clothes are always my old worn out things, when finished they go with textiles at the council tip.

Hi, I can associate with all the above, I have ''gardening clothes'' they just happen to be the oldest clothes I have, but I would never go out in them, but I would never go out in a track suit anyway, even if it was brand new, I used to wear an old pair of trainers for gardening, but last year I treated myself to a pair of gardening boots, mainly because the trainers fell apart, and I hadn't bought new ones for years, also I find that there's less pressure on your feet when digging, Derek.

It's nice to know that some of us Feverfew, still make the effort to smarten up before going out. I remember when it used to be a day out to go to Norwich and would involve best clothes, stockings and heels as well as make-up. I would still do the smarten up bit, but forgo the make-up now and heels! I do still think it's weird to see people in baggy shorts and flip-flops in town, things meant for the beach or garden.

Very well behaved of you Derek to not go out in your gardening clothes. I can understand the need for a decent pair of boots for digging, more support for the ankles and less likely to have the spade cut into the soles.

After reading Meadowland's comments about cutting her hedge I turned to Barry and told him I hadn't finished cutting the hedge when I meant hoovering the hall.
An added item for the list. Although I think I have been guilty of loss of conserntration for years.

I forgot about that one, where you muddle up two things you are thinking about Meadowland. Just goes to prove that we all, even when retired, have too many things on the brain, so you get crossed wires! The usual is standing in the shed wondering why I am there, having to retrace my steps until I get to the point where I remember what I went after! Still I suppose it's exercise.

I agree with so much of what has been said but the worst part of ageing for me is shopping for clothes ..... the outlets that sell 'sensible' clothing that fits and isn't determined by fashion are becoming fewer and further between in my experience. Don't get me wrong, much of my wardrobe consists of much loved, long owned faithfuls ( I have a jumper that was part of my school uniform, Harrods made things to last ;-) ) but most have been around so long now they are wearing out, and finding 'classic' replacements with proper long / short ( not 3/4 ) length sleeves, just below the knee length skirts and straight cut, properly ankle length trousers at sensible prices has become a nightmare. As for shoes, the choice is even more restricted, I dread a pair of shoes wearing out :-0 Having said that, I have just replaced my dog-walking / gardening shoes with a pair of muckers, they are the most comfortable shoes I possess, I'd wear them everywhere but I think I might get some very odd looks :-) !

Maybe you would have better luck online Xela? I quite like a company called Landsend: good luck.

Oh dear. I never wear makeup, my feet have always been too wide for heels, and dressing up involves putting on newer trousers and a decent jumper - and at least nowadays the lovely coloured leathers can mean shoes to match. Non dressing up jumpers are very old indeed, some dating from the 80s, and my gardening trousers (which tend to get worn all day every day) date from the early 70s. Synthetic materials just go on and on...
To tell you the truth very smart people make me nervous...

Thank you Sheila, yes, I like Landsend too, and now do most of my clothes shopping online although I do like to try things on before buying if I can .... I seem to be between sizes too ( very many moons ago Marks & Spencer sold half sizes for a short while, it was bliss for me :-) ) Years ago many of us made a lot of our own clothes and now I am retired I have started doing that again. The fabric shops are not as common as they used to be but there is a wonderful establishment, Lady Sew & Sew, in Henley which has a good range. It takes me longer to make a garment now than it used to, the eyes are not as good nor the powers of concentration, but if I aim to make for two seasons hence I have a new outfit to wear in time for the beginning of the season ;-)

Shopping for clothes is not a top priority for me Xela! I tend to have items in my wardrobe that have been there for years, get worn very infrequently so don't need replacing. I also sew, not clothes for me, but odds and ends, I used to do Craft Fairs and make all sorts of items. Loads of dolls clothes which were very popular, posh peg bags and sundry little purses and bags. The lure of fabric is still strong, even though I probably own more than a lot of shops!

I can agree with you Stera, no make-up and newer trousers to go out and I am so glad that you have items in your wardrobe of the same age as some of mine! Look on eBay and clothes that I still have in the wardrobe are given as 'vintage' - Wow!

Well after all we are vintage too so that's OK...
And we are now being officially encouraged not to discard older fashions.....

Yeah, isn't it great Steara. Now we are doing the right thing by hoarding our old clothes or buying second-hand, rather than being frowned on for being tight!