When your blog title hints that there may be challenges when you go upwards of 50, you know eventually it will actually talk about aging. So here you go…

A few weeks ago I got a cold.  Just a cold. Common, if you will.  A little post nasal drip, stuffy head, raspy sounding throat.  No fever. No flu. Just a cold.

And yet, it took two weeks and counting (as I still keep a tissue box close at hand) to funnel this cold out of my body. I have trouble sleeping, my nose is still tender, and I get a little tired mid day.

It sucks.

I remember days, days that were not too long ago, where a cold would take me two or three days to get out of my system.  I didn’t even need cold medicine: hot tea with honey and lemon, a little extra sleep…and boom…it was gone.

Now…

Well now- it takes forever.

And the worst part it, I take better care of myself now. I sleep more.  I eat better. I do all the things that you are supposed to in order to be healthy. But I still get colds, and they linger.

I got the cold from my daughter. She had a few sneezes and sneezed the cold right out- didn’t miss a day of school or any activity. She barely slowed a step. And I was the big lout that was laying on the couch watching mystery reruns and drinking concoctions with lemon and vinegar and ginger, single handedly keeping the aloe lotion tissues companies in business.

I don’t like this. I don’t like colds.  I don’t like nursing them.  I don’t like getting older. I want my old body back, my energy, my immune system.

But it’s not coming back.  All I can do is maintain what I have. And that appears to be an uphill battle. I spend more time taking care of myself then ever before, but it appears I’m not doing enough. But what is enough? Wrapping myself in bubble wrap? Bathing in hand sanitizer? Inoculating myself against everything?

Today I whine a little.  I rethink the Gaga/Cooper performance from the Oscar’s (OK- that makes me feel really. really young) and I blow my nose for the millionth time. I know I’m 99% better, but still… there’s a new world order racing through my body, and I have to deal with it.

I don’t want to, but I must.

Adapt or…..

 

67 thoughts on “Aging…Yeah”

  1. I think a lot about the horrid care I took of myself for so many years…the drugs and the toll it must have taken on my body. I know I will be paying the piper one day. I take much better care of myself now (MOST of the time, though definitely no drugs!) but it does worry me a little bit. Then I look at my dad, in his 60’s and still doing crazy stuff, and I think…maybe I’ll get lucky? But I’d rather play it safe and keep trying my best to be good! Getting sick for me, at 43, is still so much worse than it used to be! I know what you mean. I hope you feel 100% very soon!

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  2. I once knew a new-age-y LMT who said that you get head colds when you feel sorry for yourself. That the whole idea of them being a viral infection was nonsense. I dunno that in my experience that has been the truth, but it is food for thought. Whenever I get a cold, I remember her words.

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  5. i don’t think aging is necessarily the culpret here. I believe the weather and those increasingly evolving bugs have a lot in this long term colds. Two of my kids had the cold and flu at the beginning of the year. they’re still coughing, sneezing and i’m still helping kleenex get richer by the day. On the other hand, i had a cold – a very mild one about four days ago, and i’m already better (though not entirely healthy).
    Well, i’m not saying aging doesn’t play a role, it certainly does, i’m just saying that sometimes – when you factor in exposure, weather, food, your disposition and on and on and on – people react differently to the same bug no matter the age.

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  6. Recovery of colds doesn’t have to do with being young or old. they have changed. When we were young a cold was in the head, now it is in the head, chest and throat, it’s very strange. Also, when we are not feeling happy in life then the cold lasts longer. Get out, go to a museum, see something that is uplifting — FOR SURE, your cold will be gone quicker. SPRING IS ALMOST HERE! Write the next Chapter for your book, give your character a cold. They say, “write what you know, write what you FEEL,” right!

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  7. LA, my husband and I both got this same cold that refuses to go away, and even starts all over again. But we’re 2 decades ahead of you and we’ve never ever had colds like this, so I’m pretty sure it’s this year’s unpleasant virus to blame, not aging. This too shall pass. Just consider this to be enforced downtime!

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  8. I hope you can rid if it completely now…

    I find I spend more time on self care in general compared to when I used to either not need it, not care, or a combo of both. When I get sick I become the introverted introvert and barely look in the mirror… what’s the point? Just get more depressed?

    So yeah, the time factor is a thing.

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  9. Having two granddaughters who are germ magnets… well you can imagine what I deal with. Between hand sanitizer use at work and even more use when I’m with the girls I have this suspicion that any germs that come near me mutate on contact and thus render the sanitizer useless.
    When I do get sick it seems to come in bits and pieces, like one symptom at a time, which makes the illness appear to last forever. Last year I had something that lasted well over 2 months, fulfilling the one symptom at a time scenario. 😦

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  10. Hope you can kick that cold to the curb soon!
    I hear you about growing older and the toll you see it taking on your body, but like you said, adapt or …. I would prefer growing older vs. the alternative! 🙂

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  11. I’ve had more “colds” this year than any since I’ve retired. I’m blaming allergies and the constant up/down changes in the weather, which seem more extreme this year. Not sure about the age part, although it may take more of a toll on us, now, when we do get sick.

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  12. Excellent post. Thank you for addressing this. It is so true. And it’s very frustrating. Every time I baby sit for my grandkids I get sick. And a 48 hour cold takes weeks to recover from. And just when I get better I sit again and it starts all over again. Last year I got pneumonia and now I’m a bit paranoid. It was eye opening for me and made me think about aging. My friends and I discussed this. Especially my divorced and widowed single friends. It sucks being sick, alone and aging. The wisdom, the freedom is the best as we age. But no matter how liberated and inspired we are… our bodies don’t bounce back the same as they used to. It’s just part of the deal. Nothing we can do about it. Just try our best to stay healthy. Younger people don’t get it. I didn’t. My mom would always get sick when I had my youngest child at 40. I’d get annoyed with her for not wanting to see him if he had a runny nose. (All preschoolers have germs). Now it’s happening to me and my son doesn’t really understand why I am always worried about catching something from his kids. Being sick is the worst, especially when you live alone and are over 60. Don’t get me wrong, I can order everything on line, have groceries and prescriptions delivered, watch a million movies on television etc, so life is better than ever in that regard. But realizing that I’m getting old and get sick easier just sucks. We have no choice but to embrace aging. The alternative is worse. It’s better to be over the hill than under it. Lol.

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  13. Two years ago we had a virus circulating here called “The Hundred Day Cold” – yup…..I had it from late Sept until Dec. Not fun at all. Not that I was sick all that time, but I would get better, then it would come back, lots of coughing and feeling run down etc. But I agree…..I remember getting over a cold in a few days, a week at the most, years ago. I am the Queen of Hand Sanitizer, but if you live with the “coldee”, it’s almost impossible not to catch it. Plus those little grandkids are darling, but they are also little germ-magnets, esp. the day care variety. I sometimes think I had better immunity when I was working in health care dealing with sick people all day – (you tend to build up immunity when you are exposed to it constantly), but then I was the only one in my workplace who got the dreaded H1N1 flu back in 2009, and I recall exactly the patient who coughed on me! Worst two weeks of my life, although never in danger of dying as a few people did.

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  14. Doesn’t that just piss you off? I’ve been sick since I got home from vacation. I haven’t slept all night for almost the full month of February. I’ve missed countless workouts. The weather has been horrid too. I set my alarm clock today for PM instead of AM. Aging sucks and our bodies are failing us! Nothing makes me crabbier. 🥶😷 Hang in there! You were a lot sicker last year. Didn’t you have pneumonia? Taking it easy doesn’t bode well when you have a schedule to follow. It literally drives me crazy!

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  15. There is such an ageism thing going on in society. There are advantages to all ages. I’m 67 and maybe I am getting some of that wisdom they say you get as you get older. So many people die young – long before this age I am now, for instance. I’m lucky to be here.

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  16. I’m in the same shoes. Hubby started this off and I did everything to keep it at bay, but no luck. I don’t think the cold is worse because I’m older – they always kick my butt. It’s hard to find a positive attitude when “my head feels just like two balloons” full of snot.

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  18. Aging is a difficult thing to do. I’m in my 50s and now I deal with chronic illnesses. It really does stink. But I wouldn’t go back at all. I’ve learned so many things, experienced so many things. Yeah I’m older but I also feel a little wiser. Hang in there.

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  20. Hope you’re feeling better soon. I have had so many colds when my kids were little and as a teacher, I feel like there can’t possibly be any strains left to get me. But when one hits, it’s rough.

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  21. I hope you rally soon!
    If you have not yet tried elderberries, I cannot recommend it enough! You can find it in liquid (gross), gummies (not quite as gross), and dissolving tablets (delish). I get mine at Wallgreens (Duane Reade for you?)
    Sambucol Black Elderberry.
    Seriously, these will change your life! ❤

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  25. I am sorry for you, truly, but I also thoroughly enjoyed your post and all the comments. It’s hard to tread the tightrope between depression and blind optimism when it comes to ageing but if we’re gonna vent let’s do it!

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