I think part of the problem is that whilst we are still able to do the things we did previously, we dont acknowledge that it takes a bit more out of us and will take some time to recover. We can still do the 200 mile journey ok, but not expect to feel up to going dancing the next day!! Especially if we do certain things over a long time, so driving to see family or whatever, Often you suddenly realize you have been doing this particular journey for more than say 10 years. If you carry on doing it regularly your children also dont tend to think whether it is more effort these days, unless we tell them.
So perhaps it is time to bring up the story of a friend , who was telling you how they now need to stay overnight somewhere when they used to drive there and back in a day, and your comment can be " what did she expect at our age " or some such thing, which just might actually get the family and yourself to accept that we are perfectly capable of doing things but may now need to accept a little extra time or help. So perhaps instead of you and the family driving equal distances to meet up, maybe it is time for you to drive a little less and them a little more to meet up?
Of course , whilst learning to accept this reality , make sure that you give up the boring things like dusting or spending hours baking to make sure that if there is only limited energy available for your day, that the pleasurable bits such as going swimming or meeting friends comes much higher up the list than the housework!!
