As I approach 65, here's 25 things I'm noticing about myself

As I approach 65...

1. The earlier I'm going to bed at night.  When that 11:00 news comes on, I am ready to hit the hay.   

2. The more I prefer a hot breakfast (like eggs or oatmeal) over cold cereal.

3. The less I like swearing--hearing it or doing it.

4. The less I let other people's politics bother me.  I lost a couple good friendships over Donald Trump a few years back and regret it to this day.  

5. The less I like television sitcoms.

6. The warmer I like to be.  I used to run around (in my apartment) in my bare feet in the dead of winter.  Now I wear socks year round.  

7. The less I want to watch the local or national news.

8. The more I like to soak/doze in a warm, sudsy bubble bath.  

9. The less I like perfume or cologne on people.

10. The shorter I like the hair on my head.

11. The less I can tolerate loud movies or violence in movies.  Isn't there enough noise & violence out there?

12. The less embarrassed I am to talk about or show my body.  I almost asked my barber last week if she wanted to see my gall bladder scar.

13. The less I care about social media or trends.  What's an influencer?  Who cares?

14. The more comfortable I am with people 5-10 years older than me than people 5-10 years younger.

15. The less I know what younger people are listening to these days, music wise.  Taylor Swift... that's all I know.

16. The more I miss funny, beautiful actresses like Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Catherine O'Hara, Jill Clayburgh, Mary Tyler Moore.  I can't believe they're all gone. 😔

17. The easier it is for me to use words like "dear", even though I sound like a Mrs. Beasley doll.  "Thank you Kimberly, you're a dear."

18. The more patience I have for people like my special needs neighbor Sally who likes to tell me what she had for dinner the night before, condiments included.  She's a hoot... and a dear.

19. The less patience I have for salesman who knock on my door (like T-Mobile) who "just happened to be in the neighborhood" and want to check my internet speed.  I'm shutting the door now!

20. The less I can remember everything in my past.  I came across this picture in some old papers awhile back and have no memory of how I got it, or who took it.  On the back of the photo it says "Michelle Phillips and Doug Morris, lunch at Warner Center 1993."

I recognize my coworker and myself of course, but who had the camera?

21.  The less I mind living like a hermit.  (In fact, I worry sometimes I like it too much.)  When I was younger, I couldn't imagine spending the weekend alone.  Now I can't imagine otherwise.

22.  The luckier I feel every day I don't have cancer--as far as I know.  Mom & Dad both died from cancer and never made it to 65.

23.  The more attraction I feel towards chubby people.  Well, birds of a feather...😉

24.  The worse my handwriting is becoming.  I guess that old saying "if you don't use it you lose it" is true.  My mom had beautiful handwriting up until the day she died.

25.  The more I like my gray hair.  I wear it like a badge of honor!  

I reckon milestones are like gallstones; they come in all shapes and sizes

A couple days ago I called my barber Roe and asked if she could fit me in.  She said to come on up, and while it took a bit longer to get there (about 35 minutes vs my customary 15 minute walk) I still made it there and back on my own.  That's a half-mile trip each way and the most I've walked in 20 days.

When I got home, there was a letter from the Federal govt in my mailbox.  I thought "Uh-oh, Trump has declared another war and I've been drafted."  Fortunately I was wrong and it was from Medicare.  

I got my Medicare card, which means I've reached the government's benchmark for being classified a senior citizen, effective October 1.  

To be honest, I'm going to miss my ACA health insurance; not only are my premiums $45.00 cheaper a month than Medicare, I think I have better coverage too.  

Now I have to figure out if I want a Medicare Advantage plan.  It looks like I don't really have a choice.  Medigap coverage (keeping traditional Medicare and getting a supplement to cover the 20% Medicare doesn't pay) is outrageously expensive.

Are you on Medicare Advantage?  Do you like your plan?

At least I have insurance.  I've been getting pre-insurance "DO NOT PAY" medical bills for my 2 recent surgeries and 8 day hospital stay and home rehab visits, we are talking tens of thousands of dollars.  The gall bladder surgery alone was $22,700 and my ambulance was $1662.00 before insurance kicked in.  My final bill for that ride is $85.93.  Whew!

On another positive note, I went 4 days in a row with reduced long covid symptoms.  

I was all set to say 5 days, unfortunately my LC reared its ugly head an hour after I got up this morning.  But for the last few days I've been waking up feeling pretty normal.  So the LC may not be gone just yet, but for something that's been ongoing since last September (with zero let up) this break in symptoms seems pretty significant.

I hope I'm not jinxing things by speaking up too soon, but 4 consecutive mornings of relative calm?  I can't help but feel hopeful.  

Still debating whether I should attempt this "nicotine patch" therapy.  I think I'll wait a couple more days and see.

Finally, this isn't important in the slightest but it's still a milestone.  This is my 800th post.    

Back in 2006 when my friend Ross suggested I start a blog (we belonged to an online message forum and I enjoyed sharing stories about coworkers, weekend cooking, etc) I said I'd give it a try but probably wouldn't write more than a dozen posts total.  Who'd want to read about my humdrum life anyway?

Well, to the few out there that do it's been a great motivator.  Thanks everybody.  😏

There is something to be said for old friends and real healing

My friend Kim H and myself, home from the doctor

The day after I posted my blog about spending a week in the hospital, an old friend (Kim H, who reads my blog) contacted me and said "What can I do to help? Pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy, go shopping for you, cook some meals you can warm up later, take you to your next appointment... let me know."

My gosh, she is one of a kind. 

Here's the story on Kim.  We became friends back in 1988 when we both worked downtown at the Allegheny County Dept of Aging.  She had just gotten married, I had just started working at the agency, but we were close in age and clicked right away.  I left Aging in 1998 for greener pastures, and we stayed in touch with Christmas & birthday cards and the occasional phone call or email.  But we haven't gotten together in many, many years.

Anyway, I thanked Kim for her generous offer but when you've lived alone as long as I have you want to take care of yourself.  Several days into things however, I realized I wasn't doing so well.  That's when I made my first home grocery order, and contacted Kim and asked if she would go to my doctors office with me for my 10 day post-surgery followup.  She said of course, and that's us there at the top, home from the doctor on Thursday.

The doctor's appointment went very well.  He removed the last of my bandages, listened to my lungs and heart, checked my oxygen level.  When I told him I didn't feel I was recuperating fast enough, he said "You've been home from the hospital 10 days.  I told you at checkout you'd need 6 weeks to make a full recovery.  Stop trying to be a Steeler."  A Steeler!  I said I was sorry and he said "Mr. Morris, many of my after-surgery patients arrive here in wheelchairs--you're doing great!"

He did make a couple revisions to my recovery plan though.  I have PT & RT (respiratory therapists) coming to my place again on Monday, darn it.  Enough!

I didn't bring up my long covid-nicotine patch idea, darn that too.  I'm going to hold off on that until I'm more my old self.

Afterwards, Kim took me grocery shopping at Kuhn's, then helped carry my stuff upstairs and stayed and chatted for an hour.  We talked about old friends, her grandkids, what our families have been up to.  I enjoyed her visit so much.  

When I was walking her to the elevator, I was thinking how much I'd missed Kim and wished we were closer like the old days.  As the doors opened and she stepped on, she said "I think we need to be better friends and be a bigger part of each others lives again."   She must've read my mind!

A wonderful ending to a great morning.  Kim, if you're reading this... thanks again.