The other day I spent all day doing my typical Saturday things. I ran errands, I went to the bank, I cooked a big meal, the whole bit! My hubby didn’t seem to notice that I kept talking about church and Sunday School “the next day.” He went along with it, the entire day.
Normally, that would be fine. The problem was, it wasn’t Saturday. It was Friday. Or maybe Thursday. In any event, it was not Saturday.
I would chalk this up to being retired, but I’ve never confused days in my retirement previously. The sad truth is, I’m getting older. And I have even more evidence of this fact than merely confusing my days.
One big evidence is my increasing (and disturbing) word confusion. I simply use the wrong word. For example, the other day, it was raining. I wanted my husband to get some ice cream from the garage freezer and I said, “Honey, can you go get the umbrella?”
It happens so many times a day, I can’t even keep an accurate account. By the way, he did fetch me an umbrella. Which didn’t get the ice cream in the house, but…
I can’t keep track of my phone. For a couple of decades now, my phone is either (a) on the counter, (b) in my pocket, or (c) in my purse, in the special pocket just for the phone. Lately, it turns up anywhere. It could be on a chest, in the bathroom, or, as happened last night, IN my dresser drawer. Does it walk there itself? Perhaps a house elf hid it away. At any rate, I certainly did not put it there.
Intentionally, at least.
Don’t even get me started on skin. My skin is a road map leading directly to “old.” There are pop-up red spots, bruises, wrinkles, and skin tags. All in weird spots and they appear for no apparent reason! My sister-in-law just returned from Florida and she summed it up perfectly, “I don’t know whether I got a tan, or just more liver spots.”
Being old means I have absolutely no recollection of names. At all. Doesn’t matter if I’ve known the person for 20 years. I can run into them in a place I don’t typically see them, and their name completely escapes me. I end up responding “hello, you” instead of using their name, praying it comes to me in a flash.
These days, it doesn’t matter if I see them in a place I normally do. I have frequent colander-brain when it comes to names. I hope I do not lapse into the annoying habit of calling people “hon,” but that is a definite possibility in my future.
Of course, I go into a room and realize I have no idea why I’m there. That’s not a new thing. I often go back to where I started and usually that helps me remember. But now I’ve added a new twist. I’ll be telling a story and about two-thirds of the way through, I have no idea what the point of the story is. Or was supposed to be.
I never used to nap, unless I was sick. Now, I have trouble sleeping through the night, but if I sit in a chair longer than fifteen minutes, I’m dozing!
And who’s been putting my keys in odd places? This isn’t funny. And as soon as I remember what day it is, I’ll figure out what store to go to to get…what am I getting, again? Oh, that’s right: OLDER.

Recently, I sent a text to a family member with a “thumbs-up” emoji in response to a comment he had texted me. My phone, which has clearly decided I am a dimwit and frequently need help in completing any task on it, took the opportunity to direct me to a website page of telephone etiquette. The first line of this page indicated that a “thumbs-up” emoji is viewed by those receiving it as passive aggressive.
Passive aggressive? How in the world is that emoji viewed as any kind of aggressive? I was stunned. I immediately sent my family member an apology, saying I certainly did not intend to convey any kind of discord, let alone aggression.
He responded: thumbs-up emoji.
Okay, now I’m totally confused. I returned to the “helpful” article to discover what other phone etiquette errors I have been making lately. My discoveries were disconcerting, to say the least.
First, it’s imperative that we do not leave voice mail messages. I have no idea why this is so, since leaving messages on phones has been happening since answering machines were invented (in 1931, but commercially available in 1949). They are polite and often extremely helpful ways to communicate. But, they are seen as redundant, because most people don’t listen to them. Well, so they say. I listen to them, as do all the folks on my contact list.
Admittedly, that’s not a large number of people, but still. Clearly, not everyone finds voice mail to be archaic. The article went on to suggest that a video message would be preferable.
Video message ?! I don’t even Facetime, unless it’s a dire emergency or required by someone’s disability. Not only do I not like it, but I don’t know how to leave a video message, so I won’t be doing that any time soon.
When they invent the face screen that Jane Jetson used, then and only then¸ will I consider leaving a video message.
The rest of the list from the article includes:
• Although it may be tempting, avoid texting or accepting calls during face-to-face conversations (because you have to be told that’s rude);
• Avoid discussing personal topics in an area where others may hear you (well, that’s a given);
• Avoid using inappropriate pictures for a person’s contact photo (no idea how to add a picture);
• Be mindful about what you tag people in on Facebook (no idea how to do this!);
• Don’t talk/text and drive (it’s the law, right?);
• Put your phone on silent mode in theaters, restaurants, plays, performances, etc. (they had to tell us this?) and
• Always text before calling someone. Why? To be sure it’s a convenient time, I presume. Which, by the way, is making me do two things to accomplish one thing.
Here’s an idea: if it’s not a convenient time for you, don’t answer. I will LEAVE A VOICE MAIL. Or! I can text you what I wanted to ask or say, and you can send me back a thumbs-up emoji let me know you received my message.

The first major snow storm of 2025 has hit the Midwest. It is, actually, the first major snow storm since 2022. Last winter, we just didn’t have much – at least around here.
So I’ve celebrated by doing what folks do when they are (a) housebound for a couple of days and (b) old. I injured myself, learned new things on the television, and watched people slip on the ice.
These days – primarily because I am, as previously mentioned, old – I tend to injure myself via extreme sports. This would be things like walking, standing up from a chair, or bending over to retrieve something from the floor. All these activities can be dangerous!
To make my point, I broke my second toe by walking into the kitchen. Some additional senior moments aided in this catastrophe, because I had placed a footstool (a hard, wooden footstool) by the kitchen table and forgot to return it to its’ normal place. So, striding purposefully into the darkened kitchen one night, I rammed my foot, specifically my second toe, into said footstool.
It hurt like crazy! It also immediately swelled up, bruised, and throbbed. Being a holiday, I briefly considered going to urgent care. Seriously, what would they do but give me ibuprofen and buddy tape it? I could do that myself, and did.
I spent the next few days not walking much and babying my foot. Fortunately, this is not my first broken foot bone escapade. I had both a big boot and a driving boot from previous ridiculous moments. These helped when I finally had to leave the relative safety of my house.
Why do I think my house is safer than outside? Of the four breaks in my foot I’ve had, only one has occurred outside, so maybe my house is the problem. The culprits of these toe breaks have been the aforementioned footstool, a table leg, and a book. All resulted in minor injuries that required – you guessed it – ibuprofen and buddy taping. Outside was a real dilly, though. I fell off a bike into a stone step, breaking two toes and a bone on the top of my foot. That required the boots, so I guess I’m glad it happened.
Being housebound meant I spent more time than usual watching television. I actually watched the news – very depressing – to hear about the great snow storm that was heading our way. That’s when I learned new information. The first new thing I learned was from an incredibly savvy reporter who could only find one story to report – how road crews were feeling about the roads.
I learned that road crews expect that snow and ice will make roads slippery, dangerous, and needing a lot of plowing and salting. I learned they expected to work long hours, and then do it all again the next day. I also learned they felt good about clearing the roads when they were all done.
It was a groundbreaking story, for sure.
I watched in fascination at the places that were closed several days. I learned about places that I didn’t know existed, but they must exist because they were closing. For example, did you know there was a Cincinnati Curling Club? I didn’t! Some of the places that were closed for the week just had initials – like GCK and FMOA. No idea what they are or who goes to them, but it was fun to try to figure it out.
It also passed the time while my ibuprofen was losing steam. It just occurred to me that all four of my toe/foot breaks have been in my right foot. Strange. 2025 is starting out strangely.

It’s Christmas Eve eve, and also our 40th anniversary, so I am feeling quite reflective about life, love, and the holidays.
Let me start with the obvious – I’ve been married 40 years. It seems longer when he says it, but for me, they flew by. Seriously flew by. In my head, we’re still newlyweds. And of course, that’s not limited to marriage. In my head, I’m still thirty. I can still squat on the floor and stand up without crawling to a chair and using it as a lever. I can still sit in a recliner for hours without falling asleep, even if the show on television is boring. I can still bend over a jigsaw puzzle all evening and stand up straight without pain in my back.
It seems a natural thing then that I would think I’m still thirty in my marriage, as well. At least mentally and emotionally, I am. Those 40 years filled us with adventures and misadventures, dreams come true and nightmares (especially as regards remodeling), and children. They filled us with joy, happiness, unexpected challenges and growth. We are blessed that we grew together and not apart. I pray we get a few dozen or two more years to grow and love.
Life. Wow, the one thing you can’t prepare for is getting older. Life has so many stages, and some of the best ones come when you least expect it. I knew parenthood would be a new life stage. I assumed retirement would be something new and wonderful. But I didn’t realize that small stages would happen and change us. I never expected to be a college instructor, let alone be able to co-teach with my husband, and it was an amazing stage. I never thought I’d be a literacy coach for 8-year-olds, but that was the most fun I ever had at work!
I never believed I’d ever own a horse, but we did. That’s not true. She owned us. We’ve had so many pets, each a part of our family in different ways, and each left prints on our hearts. Racer, the beautiful and very stubbornly stupid Labrador, was raised with our son. Princess, the afore-mentioned horse, was with us only three years, and touched me in ways I never could imagine. Forest, our beloved black Lab, was truly our best friend. I still miss him. Various cats – Cleo, Katie, Effie, Tom, and Limestone – made their ways into our homes and left a legacy of love and cuddles. Well, not Tom. He didn’t cuddle. In fact, he was major pain in the neck – but I sobbed like a child when he left.
Life gives us family, friends, and fur-babies, each and all of which help us navigate the stages and seasons of life. Now that I’m officially “old” (NEVER!), I can honestly say I love the holiday season even more than ever. That’s saying something, because I start counting down to Christmas around…December 27th.
The holiday season is a time when people are a little friendlier. A little nicer. A little more generous. I hope we can keep those sentiments alive and well throughout the year. We need it now, more than ever.
In my last blog post of 2024, I wish each of you a healthy and happy 2025. Regardless of what life – or love – throws your way, I hope you have family, friends, and pets who will help see you through and/or help you celebrate. Remember to celebrate every small blessing. They are really the big events.