As we were strolling back from dinner the other night, Zaf sighed and mumbled “Boy, this aging thing takes a lot out of you.” This admission is slow in coming as my husband is highly motivated to keep “this aging thing” at bay as long as possible. He works a full-time job and commutes about an hour in each direction; on the weekends, he also oversees another business which we own. He does a good amount of chores around the house – two weeks ago he climbed to the rooftop to pull lemons off the tree! So, this acknowledgment of growing old was indeed rare.
The day before he had a series of cramps in various parts of his body. He gets them often, mostly at night. Something to discuss with the doctor, should he ever get around to making an appointment. They passed and he went to sleep. The next morning after breakfast he went out to play golf. He said he felt fine, but I told him that he has to stay out of the sun, drink lots of water and to call me, 911 or the golf office asap should he feel badly. He scoffed but promised to do so. All went well he said as he stumbled in several hours later. He was exhausted and dehydrated. Clever me, I had purchased water and sports drinks earlier that day as I tried not to worry to much about his well-being.
We both have our share of aches and pains. Zaf had full knee replacement about a year ago (see blog called SCARS) and from time to time, I see him rub the area as if to soothe it. He has allergies, his stomach gets upset often, his calves hurt. He has high blood pressure. I have high cholesterol. The disc issue on my lower back (left side) is on-going as the pain shoots down the entire leg, my acid reflex plays havoc with my eating choices, arthritis makes an entrance often and we both can stand to lose a few pounds. But otherwise, we’re good!
Much healthier than the previous generation at the same age; we are definitely much more active and alert; we have the drive to keep moving forward and not succumb to the lure of the comfortable chairs in front of the tv and call it Life. And yet, I can’t help remembering my mother, specifically, as she rubbed ointments of one kind or another to help with her arthritis pain. We do, indeed, take different medicines than our parents did, but we take them nevertheless.
We settled into cozy chairs in front of the fire-place on hotel property after our stroll. I was ready to begin: “Well honey, after we retire we will need to find other activities that aren’t…..”. But just then, a young couple sitting next to us introduced themselves and we began to chat. They asked us about any other travel we have done and Zaf began with stories about Alaska, Russia, Budapest, Berlin, Italy and of course, Greece. They were astounded and said how fortunate we are and continue to be as we outlined our retirement plans. They expressed much joy for us…and we for them.
So instead of a pep talk, I shared how much we have done so far, with our businesses and our travels and how we manage to do them both. He agreed as we held hands on the way back to our room. I couldn’t help to think that playing 14 holes out of 18 was an accomplishment to be proud of!
We are on it!
Helene
Zaf’s golf accessories from The Personal Collection of Helene and Zaf
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