“Winter hits differently when you’re 50!” My mother and I exchange text messages on a fairly regular basis. I’m not much of a telephone person but can write a novel in a text message (as my partner likes to say). She doesn’t like calling people’s mobile phones, because she doesn’t like the idea of calling and finding them out and about instead of the privacy of their own home. Text messages are a happy medium for both of us. Through our relationship’s ups and downs we have hit a happy medium there too, settling into a place of mutual respect where we can ask for and receive advice from one another. Her questions for me usually involve technology. Mine for her usually involve aging.
And so it was that my text message to her began with a declaration of how this late autumn seems to be affecting me more than previous years. My body does not appreciate the fact the weather has turned chilly and wet: I am constantly stiff and needing to stretch more than usual to keep my muscles moving. Even so, I have struggled a lot more in the past week than I ever have outside of times when I was injured in one way or another. Mom talks a lot about acknowledging the aging process with grace and good-natured humor, so I knew she’d be able to relate. She laughed and recommended Tylenol, saying it helps a lot with the stiffness. I had never thought about taking it for anything other than pain and was skeptical. But hey, she has 26 years of experience (not to mention a career as a licensed practical nurse) on me with this sort of thing and is generally a good source for health advice. As soon as I got home from my appointment I popped two Tylenol.
30 minutes later I felt as good as new, and this morning I feel like myself again. Who knew? My mom, apparently. Way to go, Mom!
I’ve always been the type of person who prefers to learn from the experiences of people older than me. I’m grateful to have my mom in my life as one of the people to help guide me through the physical changes that come with middle age.
3 responses to “Guidance Is Still Necessary”
Game changer!
Girl, yes! I have tended to not use pain relievers unless absolutely necessary to function, but functioning is so much easier when I am not stiff. Being stiff makes me not want to move, which makes me stiffer, which makes me not want to move…you get the idea.
I take a pain reliever maybe 3-4 days per week for severe stiffness (more RA related), but it really does help. Glad your mom put you on!