The word “lost” is overused in our household. I lose everything, but mostly my cell phone, glasses, and now and then, my train of thought, not to mention my mind. I never had this problem when I was younger, let’s say, a kid of a mere 70, but at the ripe old age of 77, I have a hopeless case of the I’ve-lost-its. In the past week, I have lost my cell phone three times (each day), my glasses six times (Saturday being the exception), my keys (left in the car), my remotes (I have seven so I’m always looking for the right one), my wallet (in my purse, just didn’t see it), and my umbrella (I think I left it in Boise where no rain falls).
My phone is the biggie and can turn into a catastrophe from time to time. When I lose my phone, I also lose my thermometer, clock, camera, calendar, fitness recorder, address book, grocery list, banking info, Wordle, maps, and who knows what else? I purposely bought a phone with a bright red casing, figuring that it would be easy to spot on any desk or table. Wrong. It blends in with everything else and I lose it more often than anything else. I only find it when someone kindly calls to offer me insurance on a car I got rid of long ago.
Now a word about socks. They disappear on a regular basis, but I blame the sock-eating rodent that hides in my dryer. And gloves, they disappear, too, one at a time, first the left, then the right, then the left disappears again, and I can’t blame that on anybody. Losing shoes is hard, but I did lose a pair when we went to Alaska last year. I moaned and groaned, but finally found them, stowed in the suitcase, blending in with the brown lining. Go figure.
Since I arrived in Montana, I have lost my sense of direction. East is west and north is east and who knows which direction is south? And one of the downsides of moving is that I have lost touch with some people in my circle of friends.
The thing I would like to lose most is twenty pounds, but I find those pounds every morning when I step on the scale. They just don’t disappear, no matter how many donuts I don’t eat.
But on the opposite side of the loser’s bench is what I have found. In the past two years I have found new energy, seen new and improved things, like a new shoulder and two new eyes. I have seen my kids and grandkids grow into fine people and are seeking their own adventures in this world. I have found new friends across the country, gained new relatives (Hello, Becky, Hello Dani, and all of Cowboy’s kids and grandchildren and the greats, too). I have met a crowd of people who live in my brain, yammering to get out and somehow found the strength and desire to give them adventures.
I have struggled to lose my fear of the unknown, think of it, I sold my house, left my fam, and gone on numerous adventures, all of which have been fun and reenergized me. And of course, the Cowboy, whom I have grown to love, reminds me that negative ions do not ever get anything done, that the only thing important is the next adventure, which will be a boat trip down the Erie Canal. He directs, “Now, Miss Gail, you have to cling to the line, keep one foot on the deck and ignore all those horror stories of being smashed between the lock wall and the boat, which hardly ever happens, besides, that new fancy life vest will cushion you.”
We spent Saturday morning watching YouTube videos of the Erie Canal and I am a bit skeptical, those YouTube ladies are tough, I am not sure I am ready to join this elite group, all I have to do is lose the fear of drowning, falling, being smashed along a 150 year old concrete wall covered with slimy things and what the rescuers will say as they fish out my old, septuagenarian body. (Dang, that’s a long word—14 letters meaning the 70s.) What is next? Roller blading, cave diving? Who knows? I’ll put my green sweater on and get on with it! Stay tuned.
Wrinkly Bits Series, senior hijinks. All are available on my website on soft cover or eBooks through Amazon.
- Cruise Time
- Out of Time
- Wasting Time
- Flash of Time!!! Newest book!
- Bits of Time
