Remember that song “head and shoulders knees and toes…” It was taught to us as kids and then we taught it to our kids to help them learn about their bodies. Now it’s a good jingle to carry into senior years because it’s a perfect inventory list when you’re doing your body scan to see if you should 1) get out of bed, 2) keep all the plans you made for the day.
Head – yup, one of the biggest concerns to hold together as we age. That series of quiet changes (or not so quiet) that begin occurring more regularly. Like, it makes perfect sense to me that the dog collar ends up wrapped around the milk carton in the fridge. Need dog food + milk = what’s the problem here? Judgy, judgy people with all the time in the world to make notations on the list that’s attached to the fridge door with the dangling pen right beside it. Some of us are too busy for that and have developed our own shorthand.
Shoulders – so glad that long and grinding spell with frozen shoulder is over. Pain – in check. Range of motion – somewhat diminished, but I so seldom swing my left arm in a backwards motion behind my head that my physiotherapist can back off with her high falutin goals for me.
Knees – ah yes, all those stupid things we did decades ago came to haunt our knees in particular. So much so that knees and toes is a constantly repeated theme in the song, and in the senior inventory list. So many knee surgeries in my circle – so far the ghosts in my knees only fly when the weather is changing. And on Halloween.
Toes – funny, aren’t they? We polish them up and adorn them with jewellery and fancy sandals, but they remain some of the strangest body parts going. They look strange if you stare too long and even spelling the word makes me laugh. But the giggles halt when they are stubbed or if, god forbid, arthritis or gout finds their home in those tiny, fussy digits. I haven’t dealt with toe issues, except they certainly don’t trip the light fantastic as they once did. Plus, it’s been decades since I’ve been able to light matches with them – which is a true, but different story.
Eyes – this body part has been a challenge for me since I was a child needing glasses at 12. Mom didn’t believe me when I said it made me dizzy to wear them (undiagnosed vertigo, which belongs on every category listed here if you’ve ever experienced it). She said I’d have to save my own money if I wanted to buy contacts so I saved babysitting and allowance money for a year – and was able to wear contacts ever since. Until I hit that special time in my 50s when I could no longer tolerate trifocal contacts. Finally splurged on laser surgery and love it. So my lifelong eye saga has turned out okay for me.
Ears – what?
Mouth – my close relationship with my dentist is testament to the number of visits required to tend the teeth I keep chipping. Like, who knew that teeth can soften with age? Who came up with that idea and why does it take hard candy, corn nuts and mysterious hard bits in a hot dog to inform the general public of this eventuality?
Nose – perfectly intact and perhaps even growing (in effectiveness, that is). I can smell the pines long before I enter the forest on a hike, which also means I can smell the droppings long before I enter the dog park (perfect place to remind humans to clean up after canines – it’s sort of the only way that equation can work properly).
(This was my first selfie – obviously! Have kind of discovered how to hold the phone since then. This was the last photo of me wearing prescription glasses, as I was about to walk into the laser eye clinic! April 8, 2017)