Barbara J. Hamby

Nobody Told Me This About Aging

Sitting at my computer in two sweaters, it’s the first week of July. It was hot last week, but turned cold overnight. Granted, we were warned by the weather forecasters. Also, my pullover is lightweight and the sleeveless vest over it is crocheted and, naturally, full of holes. I’m extremely reluctant to turn on heat in July and I’ve been fairly comfortable most of the day. Running a load of wet clothes through the dryer helped to take the chill off.

I don’t know if the fact that I seem to feel colder this year is due to our sudden changes of weather, my weight loss, or my age.

Turning from the vagaries of the Pacific Northwest weather, I’ve been reflecting lately on body changes I note as I grow older. Having lost 25 pounds and keeping nearly the same waist size is discouraging. Crooked lipstick, which I thought for years was caused by older ladies’ shaky hands, is, in my case, actually caused by a crooked mouth. Scars on the lip line over the years have changed the shape of my lips. A fall in Alaska broke a tooth and cut my lip. That’s the most recent scar and probably the only one I can actually remember.

Another annoying change is the thinning of my hair. This morning I asked myself if changing my hairstyle from the short, plain cut so handy for swimming, and curling the hair with permanents would be wise. Sure, it would make the hair look more bulky, but would it cause it to thin more? Fine hair, like mine, looks even thinner than it actually is. I had hoped that when I started graying, my hair would become more coarse and easier to manage, but I had no such luck.

I won’t dwell on the effects of gravity on the aging body, well documented in poetry and prose by better writers. Thanks to those writers, I had plenty of warning. Unfortunately, the “heads up” didn’t make it any easier to accept when my body succumbed to the pull.