A STEEP LEARNING CURVE

First published in April 2020

You're learning a new skill
whether you like it or not.
You have no choice.
You're learning to be old.

You discover twinges
in your hips, in your knees
and a mysterious ache in
your back. You're in pain.

You resort to pain-killers
three times a day. Stairs
become a problem, as does
getting in and out of bed.

Of course you don't see
as well as you once did, but
you're almost resigned to being
a passenger, not the driver.

Electronic devices more or
less overcome your reading
difficulties, but this pain in
your back is something new.

'Take care. Take it easy,'
they say, with the best of motives.
But you're not ready for this -
being old is for other people.

When you think about it,
you're older than your father,
older than your mother and
you've outlived two husbands.

So there's nothing else for it.
Like it or not, you're on
a steep learning curve.
Just think of the alternative.