Ode to Ageing

It stands to reason that we are all one day older to-day than we were yesterday. And the same truth will apply to-morrow. And the day thereafter. And so on.

It is a law of biological physics and perhaps other branches of science that no-one can escape the process of ageing. However very few of us pay much attention to the tiny daily changes because they are relatively unnoticeable. Just as the impact and degree of change in other similar processes of decay, like rust in ferrous metal or soil erosion in the landscape, are more appreciable over longer periods of elapsed time, so, too, do we as humans become more aware of our physical frailties as we start losing the attributes that we once possessed as middle-agers.

As far as I know, very few parents or teachers educate us in preparation for older age, probably because those very parents themselves were never properly prepared for this eventuality.

No, I have not just suddenly discovered that I’m getting older – I became aware of the decay gradually over the past 15 years. However, being aware is not adequate enough. You need to know how to adapt your lifestyle and what precautions to take to ensure that you cope with the changing circumstances under which you find yourself having to survive.

Shortly after arriving in New Zealand, the doctor advised that I have a booster anti-Tetanus injection. It had never crossed my mind that I would need something like that – the last time I cut myself was… well, it was… a long time ago, I think. Now, fooling around with the dogs, or walking between bushes, I’ve noticed a couple of scratches here and there.

And they start to bleed! Quite profusely, at that.

Where are my educators? Should they not have warned me against doing silly things, to avoid bumping and scratching my skin, because it has lost a lot of its resilience and elasticity!  And don’t pick up very heavy objects, and don’t pick up in a stupid fashion.

As we age, I guess that we learn more and more things to avoid. Usually once it’s too late.