The Color of Age

Well, after years of professional "couch potato-ing", I was awarded for my lack of effort, with the internationally recognized "double-arm bat wings".  Since then I have upgraded to general loose skin of the arms.

Don't be jealous.

I am by nature a modest person so I normally I wouldn't flaunt such an achievement but in this case, I have never been comfortable in long sleeves so I haven't the wardrobe to conceal it.

There are a few things I can do to partially mitigate the appearance but the years of couch potato-ing has kept me from developing the skills I need to do this.  Namely, exercise.  My husband literally walks around the house, working the muscles in his arms with 15lb weights several times a day so I always figured he was doing enough for both of us.  Imagine my surprise when I found it doesn't work that way.

I have beginner weights - 2 pounders - to help me get started.   Let me tell you - to exercise the biceps, triceps, and myriad of other muscles in the arms is painful and complicated.  Painful because waking them up after years of hybernation is not easy.  Complicated because it requires that you be aware of relaxing every other part of your body and not to strain your neck and back muscles to compensate.  My therapist (yes, I have one), tells me that I am not good at taking care of myself.  So I must continue with this practice.  Tomorrow. 

Completely unrelated but relevant to the topic of my arms, is a brand new development.

I am a very fair skinned individual and to my daily surprise, I am aging.  And seemingly overnight,  I have developed something called - I kid you not - senile purpula.  While not exclusive to fair skinned individuals, if shows up predominantly in people like me.  Mostly effecting arms, hands and legs (and sometimes under your eyes), it is caused when your skin becomes thinner and bruising happens right below he surface.  AND, bruising like this happens very easily.  You often don't have any idea what you did to cause the bruise.  In my case, it appears I get it from breathing.  And the color?  Deep purple!  Never my favorite color.

There is nothing dangerous about this.  But apart from some supplements you can take to help, there is no cure for it.  

So I've got to laugh about it all.

For the most part, I love my life and I do not feel old - even with knee, ankle, and hip surgeries looming in my future (arthritis).  The truth is, while I may not be good at taking care of myself, these things just don't keep me up at night.  Seeing what is naturally happening to my body doesn't make me happy but oh my God - there are so many more important things to worry about.  Like my memory.  And our future.

I have often thought about cosmetic help.  Getting braces again, tummy tuck, breast reduction, neck lift -  all of these have all been on my radar.  In fact, I had my eyelids done about 10 years ago and now they look like they did before the surgery.  Please understand, I am not against these procedures at all!  In fact, I'm not going to say that I will not have any or all of these procedures done sometime in the future but as the years go by, it seems less and less likely.

So to the high school Class of 1975, join me in accepting that our bodies are completely acceptable - warts and all.  We may be seniors but we are not old by a long shot. Focus on health, not youth.  Do what you can toward that end, even if you've just started.  And do not be ashamed to let those bat wings fly!