Thanks…I think…..it is all so clear to me, now….?

So, the poll is in: the majority of the advice is ‘be yourself’. The second one is: ‘be yourself off the grid’. So, we aren’t going fictional. We aren’t doing a mystery. No how-to. Back to Dave and Sally frolicking OTG. Great input.

OUR LIFE OFF THE GRID – The Geriatric Years

Which reminds me of a small problem….we don’t frolic much anymore. Oh, we gambol like the little (old) lambs we are now and again. We jump for joy (or because of a bare wire shock or a sharp point intrusion on the skin) once in awhile. Sal jumps. I might convulse or go into spasm. We even skip the trail lightly on a lovely day (well, Sal does. I lumber down the trail ponderously like a hungover hippo but I am happy despite all indications otherwise).

The point: we aren’t as much into the ‘doing’ heroically as we were ten years ago. Sal refuses the high tower competition, for instance. I can’t get her to climb up the tower for love or quilting supplies. She is balking at any more construction, too. We both still seem OK with the chopping and schlepping but even that is being done without our usual smiley happy faces on. But the nice faces come back when we have tea break. Our desire to risk our physical well-being to add to the empire has waned somewhat. What was once a grand adventure is now a grand lifestyle. Which is still very good. We want this but we want it now without working too hard.

We are very lucky. We managed to put in the time when we could. We did what we could when we could. We kept at it for as long as we could and we are 90% there with only a second bathroom and the greenhouse to finish. Oh yeah…the lower funicular still has to be wired up when the motor controller comes. But I think we cut it kinda close, to be frank. Age is catching up. We did all that when we could and we know that because we are not as good or energetic at it as we were. We get tired.

This year was the first year I felt old.

I am NOT old. But I felt it. I don’t like that feeling. I preferred last year. Or the one before that.

We went to town for a shop when the storm was blowing full-tilt the other day. And, we came home yesterday with it all when it was dark and as cold as 7 of 9’s smile. And everything felt heavier to carry (mostly because it was – we packed heavy this time). We got in to the house with a temperature of 6C and it has taken til now to get it warm and comfortable. It’s blowing November chills at about 20-25 mph and Sal went to bookclub today in the boat picking up a few locals on her way. And all of that is just fine. We love that. Wonderful, actually.

But the point is: it was all just a little bit harder. It is getting harder because we are getting older. It is NOT the adventure that has become harder, it is we who have become wussier. We are feeling it.

Feeling it is another way of saying ‘feeling alive’ and that is 90% still the reason for it all. But I knew I would get old or die trying and that meant that I had to plan ‘assists’ and aids for when I needed them. And I could really use that lower funicular right now. But it will come. It is close. I am smidge late on that but not by much. And I can still do everything and will likely be able to still do everything for a few years more even if I do not have the funicular and other physical aids to help me. We are still healthy. We are not infirm. We are good.

But I want it to stay that way for as long as possible and that means getting in the aids and the assists as soon as possible. Time marches on and my marching days with heavy loads are drawing to a close. Time to finish up the empire so that Sal can quilt and I can do what I do best……

…which will be my next goal – to find out what that is.

9 thoughts on “Thanks…I think…..it is all so clear to me, now….?”

Not an expert yet at the passing of time but the old boys at the gym are inspirational. One guy is in his eighties and looks a bit like a question mark with his deteriorated spine but he guts it out. One other inspiration uses a cane but moves 120 lbs around every day in an hour long workout. The senior centre is close with folks doing yoga or walking for miles a few times a week. They keep moving with very few days off. The Folks in Motion. It is motivational to the max!

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JDC on November 15, 2015 at 3:54 pm said:

Good for you. Good to hear. And I was thinking…..the totes were in excess of 30 pounds each and the cooler was 60+ pounds. And they were just 20% of what we hauled up hills and up ramps and into boats and so we have nothing to be ashamed of. But that wasn’t IT so much as just noticing that it was harder than before and I need to finish up my systems. Women hear their ‘clock’ around 30 and men seem to hear theirs at 50 or so. But the ticking gets louder at 65 for just about everyone, I think.
……….hmmmmm….just around the time we all get hard of hearing…..

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Its only an illusion, this ageing thing. Remember, ‘old is someone who is 10 years older than you.’ You take on that attitude when you’re close to seeing the end (of your project). I was full of piss & vinegar until about 6 months prior to ‘completion’, which never happens, by the way. Because you have to be to get anything done. But when the subconscious can see the end, it says “time to slow down, we can coast the rest of the way.”
That’s the way it was with me. “Slow down so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour” it says.
Trust me, I’m ten years older and that’s wot happens.
Of course, you could fool the old subconscious and start again from scratch. But the conscious and Sal may have something to say about that!

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This was the reason we retired early after we discovered our float cabin. We wanted time to enjoy it to the fullest. We do ask for help with construction projects, but the rest is still well within our power and desire levels. We don’t have as much trouble getting to and from town, and never try to travel at night or in really bad weather on the water. I enjoyed your book and love reading about others OTG experiences. And tell Sal, I would never have climbed the tower in the first place. I admire her for being able to take on such tasks at any point in her life. – Margy

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JDC on November 16, 2015 at 9:29 am said:

Despite her refusal to climb the tower, intrepid and fearless are still amongst her dominant traits. When she gets tired, she is now genuinely surprised that such a concept as fatigue(before the end of the day) even exists. Sal is the human equivalent of the Energizer Bunny. But even the Bunny needed to swap out batteries now and then. She is feeling a bit of her age these days, too. NOT like me who is feeling MY actual age. She is feeling the age of someone in their late forties or early fifties. She is still has a decade or more of energy in reserve.
Thank goodness or nothing would ever get done around here!

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