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Retro Post

I'm actually writing this post on December 31st, 2024. Last night my guy and I had a hilarious video call with our favorite person for her thirtieth birthday. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. She and her boyfriend were making a birthday cake and going out to be with friends, which made me so happy to hear, too. That will be one of my favorite memories from this year.

After that I went back to work on this art quilt, but my shaky, cramping hand knocked over a can of flavored sparkling water I was drinking, dousing one corner and soaking a dish of beads. So I had to clean and dry that out, clean the beads and mop up the mess. I spent the rest of the night winding up yarn balls to exercise my fingers.

Absolute delight to utter frustration, all in a few hours. That's the rollercoaster of my life as a senior these days. Yet I got to see my girl's face and laugh with her. That made it okay to be so clumsy and nearly ruin my work in progress. Good thing I wasn't drinking tea!

I'm having trouble multi-tasking these days, and I get easily confused if I try to do too many things at once. As someone who has been an excellent multi-tasker since grade school this upsets me, but I'm adapting to my new limits. Now I focus on doing one thing at a time, and no talking to anyone else or being in anyway distracted while I do it. Also? I need to stop drinking in my sewing room. :)

My blood sugar was 16 points lower this morning, which is a good trend with which to begin 2025. It gave my spirits a little boost to be trending down. Along with my weight, I need to get my numbers down even more in the weeks to come before I see my doctor. That means more exercise and a stricter diet, but that's life as a diabetic. I'll try to take an extra walk today.

My left hand is giving me a lot of grief this week, and I've developed a bad case of stenosing tenosynovitis in two of the fingers, which is both painful and delibilitating (and that's what really caused the sewing room spill.) I'll soak them in hot water later when I wash the dishes. That's life as someone who has had arthritis for 35 years, and I have learned to be grateful for whatever use I have left in my hands.

Why write about these mundane issues, and how I'm coping with them? By the time this post publishes on the blog I expect I'll be in worse shape, not better. This stage of life is about managing the inevitable decline, not achieving recovery. Unless someone invents a cure-all anti-ageing drug, I'll never recover from old age, diabetes or arthritis. It's best to face your limitations and hardships, be thankful for what you can do, and try to find joy in life while dealing with them. That's the message I hope to give someone today.

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