SIGNS YOU’RE GETTING OLD
The most obvious sign you’re getting old, of course, is forgetting all the signs.
Reader Mark Grainger, in Andover, Hampshire, writes: “Every time I logged on to my computer recently, I wondered why I had this draft email set up addressed to you.
“Then I read your ‘Signs You’re Getting Old’ feature and it reminded me. One of the first signs of getting old is that you forget things – A LOT!”
And he adds: “I love the subtle changes shown in the inter-reaction between The Dark Lord and yourself and how it has evolved in the last two years.”
Thanks, Mark, I’m glad someone’s noticed I’m becoming a downtrodden mother!
When Michael Smith in Chatham, Kent, was younger he was more inclined to look to the future. But he says now, aged 71, he doesn’t have the luxury of making long-term plans.
“I find myself spending more time looking out of the window or searching for my slippers,” he writes. “It takes me longer to extricate myself from the sofa which is usually accompanied by a groan. Watching a programme on the box, I often have to engage the subtitles, but I can’t actually read fast enough to catch the complete text of the dialogue.
“My skinny jeans were long ago replaced with fat pants due to an expanding waistline, not helped by lockdown.
“And I no longer walk with a confident swagger but with a mindful tread on uneven and potentially perilous pavements.
“At Christmas time, I don’t aspire for a cashmere sweater but a comfy cardigan with pockets.” But still, that being said, Michael says: “I wouldn’t wish to return to my wayward youth, since retirement has given me a new lease of life whereby each day I awaken is truly the beginning of a new adventure.
“But to offset any feelings of guilt at my disposition towards self-indulgence, I’ve taken up litter picking!”
What are the signs you’re getting on a bit? Email siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk