Well, here I am, another year older, and what do I have to show for it? Last year I had some notion that I was setting out more or less officially into my retirement. We had made our move back to Texas, bought a house, etc. I should have realized that my own particular modus vivendi does not involve sharp distinctions or ambitious new undertakings.
But then I suppose, after all the excitement of 2012, 2013 was bound to be a different experience. The low point came along in mid March when my mother died. It has taken me a while to adjust to that loss, even though it was not unanticipated. The long decline of my mother's health was another sobering reminder of the debts that come due in old age. We do what we can to prolong our health and hope for good results. Lately I have been much preoccupied with diet and exercise, for without a reasonably fit and healthy body, everything else becomes more doubtful. But my mother's dementia was an even harder thing to bear than her physical decline. Some of her days were better than others, but much that made her herself was already gone long before life itself came to an end.
So far as we know there is little specifically we can do to ward off mental decline, although I grasp at any straws I can find in popular and medical literature. I try to exercise the old brain, and they tell me music may do some good. I've recently taken up playing the piano, or more accurately the keyboard, to add to my repertoire of mental activities. I also figure perhaps I'll be able to play a keyboard even when it becomes physically difficult to continue with the guitar. But I haven't abandoned the latter. And unlike the physical exercises I do with dogged regularity, these mental activities are actually something I can enjoy.
I should probably also be more sociable; I'm told that social contacts with friends and family are good for one's health and longevity. Unfortunately, I'm not a very social person, so this is also going to require some concerted effort and dedication. One of the great advantages of returning to Texas has been that we are now closer to family and friends. If I were to make a resolution for the coming year, it would be to make more of an effort to stay in touch and visit with my wonderful friends, most of whom I have known since I was a child. We are a bit scattered around the area geographically, but I have noticed that when we are able to get together for a visit, I always feel rejuvenated, as though I'd taken a tonic that actually works.
And on a related matter, I should make more of an effort to get out and about. We love our new house, and it is comfortable in so many respects that we sometimes don't feel the need to go anywhere. But there are some places we want to go, and things we'd like to do, so maybe we will be a little more active this year in that way as well. But otherwise life continues pretty much as before, with some interesting variations, but no radical departures. I will continue to annoy my wife, to read and write and play music, and to look forward to puttering in the yard and garden, to sitting on the front porch and watching the wildlife, and to enjoying my walks around the countryside.
I make no other predictions for the coming year. No doubt it will bring some surprises, hopefully pleasant ones, but I am making no plans at the moment, other than to continue with a few home improvement projects, some of which, come to think of it, are fairly ambitious.
No comments:
Post a Comment