Happy Tuesday, Friend!
Octoberrrrr! Time for sweaters and boots, right? I WISH!
Boy, did I ever love to go clothes shopping when I was younger. When I was young, my body parts were better distributed than they are now. I’m not complaining (much), mind you, but I am saying that shopping used to be more fun. I used to take ten things to the dressing room, and ten things looked pretty darn good. Now, I take ten things to try on, and I’m lucky if half of one is pronounced “meh” and worthy of purchasing.
I noticed this when I was trying on all those cute clothes: There could be some pretty odd noises coming from some of the other dressing rooms. I remember thinking, What on God’s green earth is going on in there? Trying on clothes shouldn’t be that . . . noisy! How difficult is it to pull on a shirt for crying out loud?
I have to take a second to mention that my sister and I have seen many a dressing room, lo, these many years of shopping together. We try to ‘speak the truth in love’ to one another about how things look on each other. Some of the biggest laughs we’ve had have happened in side-by-side dressing rooms and typically involved bathing suits or bras and followed statements like, “Wait till you see this!” Hey, it was either laugh or cry, and we decided on the former.
And on and on, the years have gone.
Not terribly long ago, I was trying on an article of clothing. I can’t remember what exactly, as I’ve tried to block it from my memory. But as I attempted to put on said article, I did it. It just came out of my mouth before I knew what was happening.
I grunted.
No, Lord! Say it isn’t so! I did not just grunt while attempting to remove my pants! But, oh yes, indeed, I had. And I wonder how many young women were in nearby dressing rooms wondering how a person could actually make such unpleasant noises simply by changing her clothing. The horror!
It seems that along with making extra noises while changing clothes, with advancing years comes more talk of bodily functions and, perhaps more precisely, physical malfunctions.
Misery does love company; that is true. And it is always “nice” to hear that someone has the same weird stuff happening to them as it does to you, right? Most days, I’m aghast at how bad my memory has become. And then I get together with my friends who are all “of a certain age” and share what-I-forgot stories. Ahhh, it feels good to know we’re not alone in our predicaments (or our medicaments).
And let’s face it, our bodies hurt more as we age. And things don’t work like they used to. And sometimes, that can be the focus of what we talk about. I have a friend, though, who came up with an alternative plan that I think is worth mentioning!
My friend, Kit, lives in Clearwater Beach with her husband, Gary. Kit spent her whole life going to Clearwater Beach from Wisconsin with her family as her grandparents had a place there, then her parents, and now she and Gary have followed suit.
Gary & Kit have an adorable beach house not too far from Kit’s parents’ condo, and they made it a frequent practice to walk or bike over to see them. Even if Kit was busy with other things, Gary would go meet his in-laws and spend time with them and their friends at their condo. There was a group that met in a common area, and Gary would sit with the older folks and listen to them talk primarily about their ailments.
Side note: Gary & Kit are probably the most active, pursuant-of-a-healthy-lifestyle people I know. They are “take the stairs instead,” “move-it-or-lose-it” kind of people. They’ve never met a workout they didn’t like.
One day, upon hearing one too many ailment stories, Gary suggested this group save up all their tales of affliction for one day each week, spill them all then, and then keep the rest of the days for more positive talk. “Tuesdays! Talk about your troubles on Tuesdays and Tuesdays only!”
When Kit told us (my college roommate friend group) about Gary’s suggestion to the condo crowd, we thought we’d adopt that too. Now, we don’t have as many complaints as the older generation does but don’t forget, I have started to grunt in dressing rooms, so . . .
Our college roommate foursome lives far apart from each other: there’s Kit and me in Florida, Janet and Julia in Wisconsin, so we communicate primarily via email. We’ve adopted Gary’s “health plan,” and we stay away from health complaints six days a week. If I ever receive an email on a Tuesday from one of these gals, it may very well start with, “Since it’s Tuesday, I can tell you . . . “
I don’t suggest, however, that if you get your foot run over by a truck on a Friday, you wait until Tuesday to have it looked at by a medical practitioner. Some things need immediate attention, regardless of the day of the week.
It does leave room, though, to push away protestations, divert drudgery, grind away gripes, and transfer troubles to the back burners or our conversations—at least six days a week.
There’s a verse in Philippians that says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) I know it says to think about such things, but maybe if we talk more about them, it’ll help change our thinking.
But since today is Tuesday—I’ve got this pain in my shoulder . . . .
Written with love – – – Patti XOXO💗
“Do everything without complaining and arguing . . . “
Philippians 2:14
(even on Tuesdays???)
These ladies look pretty cheery – – must not be a Tuesday!