An Irreverent Look at Ageing

My mum always feared ageing. Her own mother had early onset dementia, and, as the years passed it’s something that concerned my mum more and more. This thought that she would ‘end up like your nan’.
I doubt that the worrying about it helped in any way, other than to be a constant source of anxiety. And then, of course, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s herself. The irony being that, by that point, that worry was forgotten, as she wasn’t aware of the diagnosis.

It would be wrong of me to say that I don’t share that same fear, but I never say ‘I don’t want to end up like my mum’ - who always seems content. Of the many ways life can play out, I really don’t think it’s the worst. I’ve said before that I think, considering the situation we’re in, we are lucky, and I stand by that.

I firmly believe in finding the joy in the situation, and some of the gifts on this site are designed with a little bit of humour. Because, who are we to deny that our loved ones had a sense of humour? Even if we don’t necessarily know whether it’s still there.

If we can face a situation with humour, we are winning, so I thought I’d compile a few quotations about ageing (everyone’s favourite thing to have a laugh about…).

You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.

George Burns

Can any of us not appreciate George telling it like it is? With sciatica settling in, I do like to multi-task if I have to bend down for anything, to make that effort worthwhile!
On which note:

“I’m at an age when my back goes out more than I do.”

Phyllis Diller

Oh, Phyllis, I hear you!

“You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.”
Bob Hope

Of course, it may be more appropriate these days to acknowledge that you know you’re getting old if you’ve heard of Bob Hope…

Or Norman Wisdom, now, where did I put my keys?

As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.

Norman Wisdom

Harrison Ford continues to be an absolute legend with the latest Indiana Jones film and actually, it is fab to see an actor representing an older demographic in a positive way. Here’s his take on ageing:

You know you're getting old when all the names in your black book have M.D. after them.

Harrison Ford

Meanwhile, George Bernard Shaw has it right.

You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.

George Bernard Shaw

Laughter is, after all, the best medicine, or, at the very least essential sometimes, to get you through life. And, we do forget that (easily, when everything is seeming less than humorous), so we have to find the ways we can bring laughter back into our lives.
We went all out to make my mum laugh on today’s visit, and, I can confirm that laughter is infectious, because, usually, if we laugh she will join in. How then, can we not laugh?

Much love,
Anna
xx

My mum - 07/08/23