Cane And Able

Sometimes, at least as we approach 80, sleep is not quite so deep. In the semi-wakefulness we ponder the day ahead and the tasks waiting to be tackled.

As often as not, that is enough to cause us to go back to full sleep to finish restoring the energy we are going to need in the day ahead.

One morning recently it was just the opposite. It was 4:00 AM on a Sunday morning, the day when we most religiously like to sleep. The thought occurred that the lesson that day was going to be from the Book of Acts, and I hadn't gotten my act together.

So I hauled myself out of bed and hauled out my large print edition of the New International Version of The Daily Bible, published by Guideposts. It is an extraordinary version by E. LaGard Smith with the virtue that it is in chronological order for 365 daily readings with "devotional insights" that set the scene for each reading along with commentary from said Smith.

At 1,713 pages measuring 7.5" by 10" and weighing over three pounds, it needed a music stand for my mother to enjoy it at age 103. She passed away at nearly half past 105 and the reclaimed book became a major part of my inheritance.

All that aside, at 4:00 AM I found my forward motion surprisingly unstable. Years before, I had been given a marvelous cane that had sat idly by but admired. Unlike many other items accumulated over the years, I knew right where it rested, and I put it to work, eventually adding a rubber tip from the nearby Home Depot store after a trip to Rite Aid unsuccessfully scoured that monthly stop for a 5/8ths inch tip.

My only guess, so far, is that I may have had a very mild stroke while asleep. My face, speech (to the cat), and other movements were normal, but now five days later, the slight unsteadiness continues and the cane is doing its things.

I say "things" because I find that a cane serves more than just one purpose.I can straighten rugs, scoop up items of clothing, off the floor, straighten curtains (being careful, of course, not to punch holes in windows) and open doors that are ajar. [Reminds me of the riddle, "When is a door not a door?]

My annual physical was great! My eye exam showed cataract development in my left eye, but not serious enough to do anything about....yet. My dental exam lit dollar signs in two dentist's pairs of eyes and I chose the more highly recommended one and am now almost "smile perfect," to quote a biting remark Dr. Farley, DDS made regarding his professional work on my behalf..

After the latest report came out on how much water I need to drink each day, and reported that older folks are not as aware of their own "thirsty" signals, I have taken to implementing my own suggestion that bottles of water be placed at strategic places (car, computer, TV, kitchen, etc.) and be cool, or cold when possible (to add weight loss assistance to the hydration goal.)

I still walk, climb the stairs, and try to get those "goals for the day" accomplished each day (especially the small, easy ones like hanging the brand new shower curtain yesterday that I purchased some years ago.)

But it appears that the first real assault of "the golden years" has made its first blind side tackle attempt, and I have fended it off with the very cane someone anticipated 49 years ago that I might need one day.

That day arrived at 4:00 AM last Sunday.

Search for Perspycacious "Annual Physicals For Elders"

Search for Perspycacious "Five Diet Keys You Need To Know And Use".

Search for Perspycacious "Tip For The Day".

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