Not even a week into the new year and I find myself already running behind. I haven’t figured out why old people are so busy with their lives. Viewing the old people in my life from the past, I seem to remember them having a lot more time than we have. Was there a different time bank in those days? What we do is really not all that important, but it certainly seems to take more time. We move slower of course, and do a lot of talking at each stop along the way.
We have accumulated all kinds of tech devices which seem to need expert advice occasionally to run properly. Those are things our forebears never dreamed of. Dr. A’s iPad never seems to pop back into his library with a tiny tap of his finger. We both sit and pound away while it sneers at us and remains where it is. When we take it into the expert, he waves his finger over the top of it and it magically shows all the books in his library. Dr. A has become an inveterate reader so there are many more books in his cloud. If only he could reach them!
Christmas brought me an incredibly large monitor which has allowed me to see some things I haven’t seen for ages. Along with it I graduated to a Windows 10 computer which needed a bit of advice today. All of these trips to the expert take time.
I remember My grandparents and/or parents taking a lot of scenic drives, and having dinner out. We don’t do either. Though we eat out at lunch time, driving after dark is dangerous to failing eyesight. The traffic in our area is so bad any time of day it sometimes is more satisfying to simply stay home.
All in all, having a lack of time is not bad. It keeps the grey cells active, and whatever you don’t have time for today, can be accomplished tomorrow. I find that being an old person is quite comfortable.
Pachofa-Unfinished 
This is just a test — my comments aren’t appearing on every blog, so I need to check it out before I leave a “real” comment.
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Now that I’ve read, I’m laughing. It seems we’re both having a bit of an issue with the techy things in our lives. But at least I can comment here! The WordPress “Happiness Engineers” seem to be off duty, so I’ll have to cope.
When I think about my grandparents, I remember that slower pace of life. In the evening, they’d sit out on the front porch for an hour or two: Grandpa smoking, Grandma doing handwork if it was light enough, or shelling peas if it wasn’t. They’d visit with people who walked by, and watch the kids playing in the yard. It was the same two hours after dinner that I have — they just spent it differently.
I suspect their lives were slower because they weren’t as healthy. And it was expected that old people would slow down, too. Of course, old is a relative term, and I’ve already outlived them both.
I’m still happy about your new monitor. It’s akin to my new lenses after cataract surgery. We’re blessed indeed to have such things — although I have to say I’m just as glad I’ll be long gone before the self-driving cars and such really take off. I understand all the arguments in favor of such things, and agree with many of them. I just don’t want them. So there!
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Self-driving cars are among the many new things we can do without, and I will look down {or up} and say “I told you so!}
On further thinking, I guess we are more akin to Auntie and Uncle Phil with whom I often lived. Their two chair side by side in living room, they sat every evening reading their books before bedtime at 8 p.m. We have the same time schedule though we go to bed and read until….whenever. They were up at 6:a.m. without fail, though we are a bit later.
I loved picturing your grandparents on their front porch. Very Norman Rockwell. Backbone of the country. What I would give to see that continuing. Difficult the way people live these days.
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I always love reading your articles. Also know I love your insights.
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Thanks so much for reading Carole and Happy New Year to you and Jeff.
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Somehow I don’t think of you as an “old person”!!!
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Just think: I have lived longer than Gramma and Aunt Georgia. Ten more years and I will catch up with your mama.
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Too much time or too little, it is hard to find the balance. I think too little is the side to err on. Keep on learning x
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I’m still in the race.
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I turn 70 in less than 2 months. Eek. I find myself busy most of the time, but I also know age is catching up with me a bit and sometimes I back off pushing myself too much or over-programming my time. Despite the downside of getting older, I rather enjoy being free of lots of the things that used to bother me. I’ve dumped most of the keeping-up efforts, or having the latest this or that, and I’m even trying to de-clutter my house so that my kids don’t have to do it some day. I also just want to get rid of stuff rather than accumulating more. Simplicity looks pretty good these days.
Glad you got one of those big monitors, and it may take some time getting used to Windows 10, but you’re pretty savvy — you’ll get it. My brother-in-law has a serious eye condition (he’s half-blind) and the oversized monitor has been a real blessing for him. Reading material on the big screen is far easier for him than using a magnifier to read from books or magazines — and so much is online these days. Thank you for entertaining me again. Your blogs are so uplifting and amusing.
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I think we get slower when we retire from whatever we do. We know we have all the time in the world to accomplish the chore so we move slower. At least that’s how it seems. I think a retired husband slows things down too! More time to chat.
Glad to hear your brother-in-law has a large monitor. I am enjoying it so much. Just being able to find the trash can is handy sometimes! I used to wonder what it would be like to lose your sight, but never thought about loss of hearing until my dearest friend lost her hearing over night. Both are bad. I used to watch her drop things and never know it, while I drop something small and have trouble finding it. It’s best to just keep the default if possible. We begin with all these good things, the trick is to take care of them.
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I am so pleased to learn that your family insisted and bought you a BIG SCREEN. That was long overdue!! I hope you have an IT person who can come over whenever you need it to help you and Dr. Advice with your computers, iPads and anything else. At this point, why save your money? Spend it!!! With abandon!
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Half the fun of a new computer is finding out what’s in it by yourself. I anticipated that Windows 10 was a lot different,but it’s not too bad.
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Yes. So true. So can you see your words clearly with a large monitor and font??
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Things as a whole are a lot clearer, though colored font or backgrounds are still difficult. white print is VERY hard to decipher. The darker black font and not extremely large is best.
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Sounds a bit better!
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Ah, yes. Do you know the saying, “It takes me twice as long to do half as much, and soon it will take me all day to do nothing at all.”?
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This made me smile. I was familiar with the first part but I love the last part.
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Hi Kayti, I think the paring down of “must do’s” is essential to the quality of our lives. When I try to schedule lunch with an old friend, it is often an exercise in frustration between our two schedules. Can’t quite figure out how that happened but I don’t like it.
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I have also been in that situation. But looking at it from another viewpoint: isn’t it wonderful that we are so busy we are still meeting friends for lunch? Plus they have the same frustration trying to pin US down? How miserable it would be to be sitting alone just waiting for an invitation from ANYONE?
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