Stress is a five-letter word and seems to dominate our daily lives.
As I became a senior citizen, and continue in these “golden years,” I try to eliminate stress in any way possible. I say no more, I do things ahead of time and not wait until the last minute. However, no matter what I do, life seems to converge upon me at times, and sometimes I want to sit down and scream.
One of the definitions in the dictionary describes stress as “force exerted on a body that tends to strain or deform its shape.” I can’t say my body is strained out of shape, but I think some of my muscles and ligaments certainly are.
Finally, weeks of physical therapy have finally paid off, and that tight hip has loosened, and I am walking normal again. My left shoulder and neck have been acting up, to the point of being stiff and painful. It is telling me that stress has taken its hold on me once again.
The go, go, going and gone has begun to be a pain in the neck. Not only the going, but also the computer tricks that everyone else seems to be able to handle are driving me up the wall. User names, passwords, websites and being put on hold when trying to phone make me think that modern life is getting to be beyond what my poor mind can handle.
Today, when I woke with that painful stiff neck, I was pleased that my brother would be driving the three hours to south Wisconsin for my Aunt Augusta’s funeral. Not only was I going to say goodbye to my 99-year-old aunt, I wanted to do so safely, and I can’t turn my head now to check that blind spot while driving.
A lot of pleasant memories were shared today with other family members. It was so easy to talk about the times when she visited our farm and stayed a few days. Others were there, too, and we had so much fun playing cards, cooking or washing dishes together. Then there were the times I visited her, and there was more cards and laughter.
Even longer ago was a couple of days spent at her house in Waukesha with her husband and kids. My brother and I were children then, too, but we got to spend a couple days and nights in the big city of Waukesha, which this farm girl enjoyed. We played cards, of course, watched “Gilligan’s Island” and took apart a golf ball that one of my cousins found. We just wanted to know what was inside.
The years go so quickly that it is hard to grasp the days and memories that are held in each one. At times we get so stressed out with the everyday hum drum of life that the good memories slip away. Today, for a couple of hours, they were first and foremost, and shared with cousins and friends alike.
However, when I arrived home, stress happened. I was reminded that I had to go to a website, to change or cancel an order, or it would be sent automatically. I have all of the things written down, customer number, user name, password, etc. It all was rejected. I tried calling the number; they are currently closed. This was after waiting 30 minutes.
As this was happening, the minutes of what I planned to be a relaxing night went slipping away. The neck that had loosened up during the day got tighter again. My head began to throb. Stress is a six-letter word, one I am ready to get rid of.
Psalms 116:6: “The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low and He helped me.”
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