Filling the Day By Dr. Juan Harrison
Filling the Day
If you’re a senior citizen and haven’t fallen lately, count yourself lucky. If you took a poll of the fears and worries of our elderly peers, it would have to be that of tripping over something and hitting the floor or the ground. One younger than yours truly just suffered a third broken bone in as many falls over the last year or so. Us older guys have this subconscious fear in the back of our mind of falling, breaking a hip, then falling into the likelihood of facing death within a year from complications due to inactivity and subsequent heart and breathing issues.
Sometimes it’s bad judgment as we climb up on an unsteady footing and end up flying off sideways. More than likely, we could have gotten someone to help us with a chore, but old impatience just wouldn’t let us wait. Maybe overconfidence made us think we were stronger or more agile than we really are. Hindsight often makes us wish we had waited for help. Sometimes it’s something simple like leaving a loose shoestring dragging under our feet, thinking we’ll tie it later. Maybe it’s rushing to put on pants or underwear without finding something stable to lean on as we put the first leg in. Maybe we get one leg in and get a little overconfident or in a hurry for leg number two.
We fight five million things from getting lids off jars to peeling the covering off of the half gallon of milk after the top is unscrewed. Seems like almost everything is wrapped in cellophane or some kind of plastic that requires extra effort to open. Unless we’re an unusually patient type, almost everything seems harder to open.
Fine print, small print. You pull up the bottle of pills close to your eyes to make sure you’re reading the directions correctly. Then there’s the chore of reloading our pill boxes as we continue to acquire new medications. Seems like we just filled the dang thing yesterday. Then you look at the pill case and it reminds you that you skipped last night’s dosage as you ate out with the girls and forgot to take your pill case with you.
Where does the day go. Make a little bed. Wash a little clothes. Eat a little food. Wash a little dish. Feed a little pet. Make a call or two. Wait on the mailman. Put out the trash if you remember it’s trash day. Do a quick survey of the refrigerator door to check on the next doctor’s appointment. Work in a ladies meeting, and your day is about gone. Sometimes you go to bed early. Sometimes, you sleep a little later. Throw in a call or two from a family member. Where did the day go. Eating and cooking for one. Maybe you just go with Frosted Flakes or Raisin Bran tonight. Tonight, I’m breathing and my mind is hanging in there. Count our blessings for another day to love and be loved.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
