By Linda Shaffer
I like the idea of a new year. I think most of us do. Just the word ‘new’ is enough to get our attention most days…whether it’s a new kind of gizmo, an idea or a pair of warm jammies. New is a good thing. Old? It doesn’t follow that old is bad. It’s just more wrinkled, creaks and smells like the floors of an old hardware store, and contains important facts needed by future generations. Old is good and will be necessary in the new year. That’s a good thing because I’m old and I want to be there. Those hardware store memories go in my bag.
The liabilities which come with getting old can be really frustrating or sad or downright expensive. Your insurance rates will go up. Your tolerance for that and the accompanying marketing calls will go down. Your friends and family members have been getting old at the same time you have. This means some of them will leave this planet. Having experienced this, I already know it hurts. If you believe you’ll see them in another place, then you probably will. If not, you have memories to pack in your bag for 2025. If you have mule-like tendencies, you also may be packing a couple of unsolved complaints and injustices in your bag too. If you are a peace-loving soul, leave these behind. I’ve got this. If I run out of projects mid-year, I’ll let you know.
During this past year I have tried to rid my life of opportunities to do things I should not do. I believe that I have made great progress. Only two ambulance rides due to falls with oxygen line around my legs. The last one was in July. Not good but I pay attention now, having discovered that these falls really do hurt. I have only those dishes and pans I can safely lift. I have flat-bottomed glasses and cups which can ride around on my walker. I have a seat so I can get over the tub and shower safely. I wait for help to unload heavy boxes of stuff. I stopped feeding birds because my daughter says the deck is slick. It is. I have secretly packed hummingbird feeding into my bag for 2025. Don’t tell my daughter, the neighbor lady. I found a dry spot. They are buzzing me and I can’t stand it.
More of what’s already packed for the new year? I’m a 24/7 oxygen kind of gal and thankful for it. During some recent power outages, I decided to ask for oxygen in tanks for the times both electricity and my portable run out. So far this year there have been two of those times. Not taking chances in 2025. Breathing is good. When I feel like I will run out of air, I sit down instead of trying to see how many things I can do before I can’t breathe. Old people with lung disease…we’re in this together. Our kids don’t think we’re funny. We used to smoke in the doctor’s office. You either may be one or know one. I’ve got this in the bag.
The 2025 bag will be filled with memories of Mr. S, who died on January 23 of 2024. I have to make room for those because I can’t imagine being without them or him but I am living it. Quiet and calm, this has been a wonderful year to celebrate his life and our 45 years together. I have been blessed with love and support from family and friends. Some of that will move ahead to the new year but all of it will remain a part of me. If you knew Nick Shaffer, you miss him. I’m in good company,
Into my 2025 bag will go family. My 95 year-old mom, step-sisters, daughters, grandsons and their families, great-grands, aunts, uncles, cousins of all numbers and the lovely contributions they’ve made to life on this planet. Nothing can be more important…OK, true friends are right up there with them. They are family. I don’t need their DNA to prove it. You know who you are. You’re in the bag.
Tigger is the last one in the bag. Why? If you knew my ginger cat like I do, you wouldn’t want to pick him up until you were ready to make a move. He’s 13 now and has a sour disposition. He also has one functioning eye, 6 teeth and no front claws. He is a beautiful ginger white cat who sheds like no cat God ever created. He kicks out cat litter as if it were a political statement, He wakes me up one hour earlier than I would like to be awakened. I love him. We are the perfect couple with exception of the times he becomes “Bitey Boy”.
Yes, he sometimes bites me but he purrs when he does it. This doesn’t happen often, but I don’t want to be the one to stuff him into the 2025 bag. He’s going with me one way or the other.
Happy New Year. Have a great week my friends. xoxo
