Kia ora koutou, this Busk was originally a letter to two friends who liked it and said, ‘You should stick this on the Busk.’ So here it is.
Old age is not always fun and there’s a lot of education to do. I don’t know why I was never taught about the importance of the gut when I was at school and no-one has ever said, ‘Renée you need to know more about the gut.’ In fact I cannot remember anyone ever talking to me about what growing old means, except for one friend who said, ‘Its not for Sissies.’
Its not exactly a topic for discussion over coffee either although it should be. You can read books or watch a film but remember old age is not for the faint-hearted and I would add a PS — its not for those who don’t educate themselves about the gut either.
The gut rules, okay?
Did I ever know how many miles (or kms) of intestine there were in my body? No.
Did I ever want to? No.
Was I aware of what could go wrong in that area?
Hadn’t a clue.
But old age came and took the matter out of my hands (metaphorically speaking) and now I think learning about the gut should be required for anyone over 70 and if they don’t do some education on the gut, then they will not become a happy old person.
Knowledge is all.
There are advantages to growing old. You can give up ironing completely. The pay–off is that your clothes then start to match your skin and as no-one notices anyone over 60 anyway, usually no-one comments although there is always one. S/he, a complete stranger, calls you Sweetie or Dear or Love and says, “Sweetie, did you know there’s a big crease all over the back of your shirt?’
You say, ‘I’ve given up ironing.’
And s/he says, ‘Have you thought of getting Home Help?’ And you smile viciously and think, ‘You bloody crease-hater, you wait till you’re 92. Or 3’
You can also eat fried bacon sandwiches whenever you like. Just remember to turn the stove off AT THE WALL when you’ve finished frying them in the butter you know is bad for you. You can leave the pan of hot butter on the stove to cool, that’s perfectly acceptable, you can’t see it anyway, but you need to TURN OFF the power. Otherwise you might be canoeing down the River Styx a bit sooner than you anticipated.
You can lie on the bed and read and only feel slightly guilty and when that little well-known voice in your head starts to raise an admonitory word you can say, ‘I’m 92 or 93 or whatever so piss off.’
There are some good things though. Small things that make you smile. The big thing, the important thing, is we can all still laugh at our own jokes and sometimes people are kind enough to laugh at them too.
Did you hear about the farmer who called his dog Kris Kristoffersen? It was on RNZ a while ago so it must be true. Be good to hear him calling the dog though, especially if the dog didn’t come immediately.
And remember — although we might sometimes feel we’re on our own — a lot of us have been down this road before and they’ve all managed in their own way and you will too. You are not alone.
Arohanui
Renée
