Creaking Through The Years

I’ve got remote meetings via Google Meet in the morning. And I’ll sit down for it. My desk does let me stand, but I’ll sit. I’m feeling knackered today, and that will carry into the morning. No doubt. 

There’s a point about ageing. The general advice for ageing well is to stay active. It's advice offered by people much younger than me. That's the only conclusion that makes sense.

I stay active. Or, I try to. Mary and I walk every day… Ah, no, we don’t. We walk most days. Or, put another way, we walk on as many days as we can manage. 

See, the thing is, the recommended amount of exercise per week is 150 minutes. Brisk walking or cycling. We do manage the brisk walking bit. I wouldn’t do the cycling thing. We live in Coventry. So we’d either get run over by traffic or our bikes would get nicked. 

We stay healthy-ish by walking at pace everywhere we go. And I get up from my desk as often as work allows. Mary potters in the garden and I sometimes try to go jogging. Generally a bad move if I want to be able to walk during the rest of the day. 

The point is: the advice is well-meaning. But wide of the mark for what is possible. I’d change it to say, stay mobile in whatever way you can. And leave it at that. 

It's not only the brisk walking or cycling. There's muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week as well. Activities like carrying heavy shopping or doing squats. 

Er, right. Again, that advice comes from folks younger than us. It must do. I tried a squat recently. Mary said I looked as if I needed the bog. And it took me ages to unlock myself from the weird angle my limbs were in. 

The heavy shopping part? Yeah, we do that. But only if we can’t get Tesco to deliver our groceries. 

Next, sources of protein with every meal to keep our muscles strong. That's also advice on offer. Now that one I like, I reckon. Do eggs have protein in them? I'm sure they do. In which case, I’d have a boiled egg with every meal, if it wasn’t for the effect they have on my innards. Poor Mary would need a respirator… 

Here’s one we do well with. Hydration. Drinking plenty is on the list of looking after ourselves. Yep, we should drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Result. We do. Mary drinks tea. And I drink coffee. We’ve nailed that one...

Here’s the next one. Then there's learning new skills to challenge our brains, reading, or taking up hobbies. All good.

Hmm. 

Sounds fair enough. I read every day, so I’ve got that covered. I don’t have much time for new hobbies. I have to work for a living. And learning new skills? I get it, but I write every day. Meaning, I’m on a constant quest for new ideas. It wears me out. I’m calling that one covered as well. 

Right, here’s another thing. I’m not old, old. I’m middle-aged. At 61, I often feel old. And knackered. I’m not one for giving up, no chance. But I’m definitely not bouncing around like a young ‘un any more. 

I can hear people saying: He’s not old. 61 is not that old. And no, I suppose it isn’t. I acknowledge that. 

But that’s the thing with ageing. There’s the expectations we set. Mary and I will still attempt long walks and wonder why we get halfway and feel like our legs are on strike. Or bits of us are about to fall off. 

Ah well, as the day wears on, it’s getting closer to the time I can have a nap. Blimey, listen to me. I even sound old.