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I do that thing now

(24 Posts)
j08 Tue 16-Apr-13 17:22:45

When I'm crossing a road and need to see if anything's coming from behind. The whole upper body turns, not just the head and neck. #oncomingoldage

Greatnan Tue 16-Apr-13 17:43:52

I have the same problem when reversing - I sometimes do a 30 point turn to avoid it!

j08 Tue 16-Apr-13 18:32:20

Does that take quite a long time Greatnan. Do you have to keep stepping back and then turning a bit. 30 times?!

Marelli Tue 16-Apr-13 19:17:48

Oh, I do that too. I hadn't realised, but I do! In fact, I think I might turn all of me round, and not just the top half!

Gally Tue 16-Apr-13 19:46:59

Just take care Marelli when you're hanging out of the train window on saturday shock

Greatnan Tue 16-Apr-13 22:42:32

It takes a long time to turn round when I find myself on a narrow mountain road covered in ice and snow and come up against a wall of snow that the snow plough has made. Especially when there is a sheer unfenced drop on one side. It was impossible today though, as I had only about two inches on either side, so I had to reverse about 100 yards, very slowly. It was strange, because I wasn't even very high up, and I didn't expect to run into so much snow. I don't know what I would do without my little Fiat Panda 4 x 4.

j08 Tue 16-Apr-13 22:48:40

I'm talking about walking. Not when in a car.

j08 Tue 16-Apr-13 22:49:17

#crossedwires

annodomini Tue 16-Apr-13 23:24:18

Greatnan you are making me nervous. wink

POGS Wed 17-Apr-13 00:09:52

Go uuuuuuch everytime you get out of the chair.

Walk down the stairs one leg at a time incase your knees give way and you go 'a over t'

Drop things all the time.

.

Oldgreymare Wed 17-Apr-13 00:46:37

.... and dip up and down several times (like one of those bird thingies) before actually picking them up! hmm

Enviousamerican Wed 17-Apr-13 01:01:45

I have a grabber! I also do everything Pogs does. are you almost 60 too? Pogs?

Greatnan Wed 17-Apr-13 06:19:45

Don't worry, Anno, there won't be any snow left when you come!

Grannyknot Wed 17-Apr-13 08:52:57

I'm a lot more careful these days when crossing a road on foot ... hmm.

The other weird thing that has happened to me recently - and I don't know whether it has anything to do with being 'older' - but I had to do a presentation at a seminar for work last week (something I've done often enough in the past) but suddenly, in the middle of it, I got the wobbles and my voice even went all wobbly and I thought 'oh no I'm going to lose it' but then I recovered and finished at top speed and raced off the podium. Afterwards I wondered: "Does it have to do with loss of confidence as you get older?" Bearing in mind that I used to take the public speaking trophy at school. Or is it that I don't really believe what I'm saying and my body can't hide that it doesn't believe the words that are coming out of my mouth? Eeek.

j08 Wed 17-Apr-13 09:54:37

When I sprained my ankle as a child, one the exercises I had to do was pick things up by curling toes round it.

Comes in useful now.

Greatnan Wed 17-Apr-13 11:13:18

Jingle, you have prehensile toes!
I have certainly started to fumble for words from time to time - fortunately, I am good at finding an alternative to use. I have also lost some confidence in my spelling, and use spellcheck occasionally. I used to have a photographic memory for words.
Physically, I am fitter than I was 30 years ago and I can still do crosswords and sudoku pretty quickly.
No point in worrying about these minor things, just keep eating bananas!

FlicketyB Wed 17-Apr-13 19:41:35

When my father got into his 80s DS and I notice how he was finding it more and more difficult to look over his shoulder and turn from the waist. So we now both do a few exercises each day twisting from side to side at neck and waist. Only a few months short of 70 so I do not know how effective it will be, but so far so good

loona Thu 02-May-13 22:43:32

I often start a conversation with something like "Have I told you before that....." to head off the "Mom you mentioned that before" . About 30 years ago my eldest said "You told me that before, you're repeating yourself!!"

I am only 64 now.

Now I can say to my eldest who is about the same age as I was back then.... "You told me that before, you are repeating myself"

Her answer.... "You haven't lost your marbles so I know I am not losing mine"

Galen Thu 02-May-13 23:00:45

J08
Only just seen your toe post.
I had the same physio. I can still use my toes so, I quite often do a John Clease sort of thing with my knickers by dropping them to the floor, then grabbing them with my toes and flipping them up into my hand!

Nelliemoser Thu 02-May-13 23:20:19

I use my prehensile toes a lot for picking things up.

One thing about having had a back problem for 30odd years is, that as I have avoided bending my back, I can crouch down and get up again quite easily. I strengthened my hip and thigh muscles doing this in my early 30s and they still work OK. Knees creak a bit though. However I can rarely sit comfortably in any one else's chairs.

galen I had to rescue a sock from the toilet the other day having tried picking it up with my toes.

Galen Thu 02-May-13 23:28:22

grin
Why did you put a sock in the toilet?

JessM Thu 02-May-13 23:53:26

Thought she had typed sock out of the toilet for a mo. Brought to mind conversation with my GD when 2 about the need to avoid dropping my specs down the loo, after a near miss: "If you did that you'd need a fishing rod nana"
grannyknot - that is the sort of thing that happens to me if I am in the kind of dip that precedes a hot flush. (sign of middle age, not ageing, honest!)
What have I noticed?
If I am starting to write a blog I often have to resist temptation to begin with a "when i was growing up" intro...

Enviousamerican Fri 03-May-13 00:11:05

my ex husband called me talent toes when I picked up objects with my toes to avoid bending over. smile

Stansgran Fri 03-May-13 14:26:45

Y es yes and yes to just about everything except picking knickers up with my toes but I do throw them across the room into the linen basket. Always pleased when I score a direct hit. Thank you all even my ears are grinning.