Making a concession to age

As time marches on, we must all deal with our changing physical abilities.  I remember my mother telling me that her mother felt frustrated when she came to the point that she didn't seem to have the strength to do things that were so easy and natural at a younger age.  Yes, I can relate to that.  I just don't have the strength that I used to, or the balance that I used to.  I use a walking stick now if I'm hiking through uneven terrain, but I push on.  I've adjusted to those changes.

I've always had pretty good eyesight.  Yes, I had to get reading glasses in my fifties, but doesn't everyone?  But, today is the day that I conceded that I needed to wear glasses just about all of the time.  I thought I could still see good, but today while I had my driving glasses on I noticed a hawk up in the sky.  I took my glasses off as I grabbed my binoculars.

 When I looked back up into the sky I couldn't find that hawk.   I put my glasses back on, and there it was!  Oh, oh............

That meant I had to fold those eye cups down and look through the binoculars into the sky with my glasses on.  And guess what?  I found that beautiful red-tailed hawk easily!

So my concession to advancing age is that I guess I need to wear those glasses all the time.  That's not easy for me to take, but if it's going to interfere with my birding, I guess I'll adjust.  :)  I can just hear my daughter, Robyn, saying "Boo hoo, so sad, deal with it!"  OK, ok, I'll deal with it.  I just hope my hearing doesn't take a dive in the near future.  I guess I'll have to get a new picture for the header of this blog with me wearing glasses.

The birds are emptying my feeders daily.  I may have to get a job to afford the birdseed!

Thought I'd include a picture of both the male (on right) and female house finch tonight so you can see the difference.  They are already beginning courtship activities, so spring must be on it's way.

After work today, I got a little help setting up an exterior propane tank to my extend-a-stay hookup so I won't have to move the rig in order to get more propane.  Temps have been unusually low in Texas this winter and continue to be below freezing at night.  That auxiliary tank means I can be as warm as I like in the rig.  It's an easy task to take the tank for a fill up compared to packing up and moving the whole rig.  I've certainly made good use of that extend-a-stay hookup that I bought at Anahuac in December.

I leave you with tonight's sunset....not too shabby!

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

I can't believe I did this.

When I arrived, yesterday, at my daughter's house in Dyer, IN, the first thing I did was run to the bathroom. I'm used to traveling in my RV and if the need arises, I pull over and use the on board facilities. Well, let me tell you that on the drive from Missouri, there was a stretch of 200 miles where there were no rest areas. From a mature bladder point of view, that can be a challenge! Anyway, as I stood up and turned to flush, up came my right leg to find the flush pedal! (for those of you that don't RV, you have to flush the toilet with your foot on a pedal) All I could do was awkwardly stand there like a crane and chuckle. I never thought I'd forget how to flush a toilet in a house. I guess full timing has become second nature for me now!

Today, was a very busy day. It started out with me babysitting my granddaughter, Avery, while her mother went to have her semi-weekly check-up at the doctor. Her next baby is due in a little over a month. What a great time I had keeping up with all the activities of a 17 month old! Once her mom returned, we were all off to drop her at daycare so Robyn could go to a hospital in Napersville to pick up some equipment for her work, and then on to visit my mother in the nursing home in Schaumburg, IL. That took several hours just to get there. The visit went very well. My mother was happy to see all of us arrive. My two brothers and one sister-in-law were also there, so it was quite a gathering. I dropped off the walking stick I had made to my older brother, and Robyn cut my mother's hair. She looked so much better after the new "do."

After my brothers left, Robyn and I continued our visit and my mother related a story about having seven baby teeth removed at once when she was young, and how her grandfather sat and entertained her that entire day to keep her mind off of her pain. Apparently, my great grandfather was normally not quite so understanding and solicitous. My guess is that probably happened about 1923 or so. I had never heard that family story before, and I was touched to watch her reliving it in her mind. Watching one's parent grow old can be heart wrenching at times.

As we finally returned to Dyer, it was time to pack up once again and head a short distance over to my son-in law's, Dennis', parent's home for a cook out. We had burgers on the grill, fresh corn on the cob, a salad, and Dennis' mother's special party pudding. Good eats, good company, and a good time.

I look forward to another busy day tomorrow. Oh, yes, it looks like I'll be stopping to meet Myrddin (check out my favorite blogs) on my way home to Missouri on Thursday.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy