Fun Friday: A Poem about The Hubby

My children and I often "write" orally--telling stories and inventing all sorts of verses aloud. I wonder at times whether I'm raising them to be writers or just nerds... perhaps both.

Anyway, in the car on the way home from school, we started discussing how people lose their hearing, eyesight, etc., and we all three realized that their beloved father was nearly deaf in one ear, nearly blind in one eye, had issues with one foot, etc. Thus, this poem was born:

Half of Our Dad is Falling Apart

We know that our father looks quite normal to you

His clothes are all neat, and his hair tidy, too,

But his looks are skin deep, his appearance deceiving,

For half of his body is planning on leaving.

While one of his eyes keeps on dutifully looking,

The other is blurring and swirling, and lurking

Inside it are dark spots and pressure abounding; 

Its lazy reluctance is truly astounding.

But that isn't all, for his ears are the same

One is still sharp, but the other is lame

From too many KISS concerts or some other reason

It's left off its senses, gone deaf, bent on treason.

His leg is bum, too, for its knee doesn't work

Locking his hip bone and moving with jerks

And shooting some pain further down to his heel

Which also rebels, going rigid as steel.

One hand is all crampy, its thumbnail is sore,

Its knuckles all puffy, its fingertips four

Either move with some effort or don't move at all

Or ache from his pushups or bouncing a ball.

One nostril works great, while the other is plugged

One shoulder is fine, but one numb and drugged,

One side of his back creaks and groans as he walks,

One side of his lips won't help out when he talks. 

So do not be fooled by this man from the start

For one half of our dad is all falling apart.

Got any body parts that are rebelling at this point? Any of this strike a chord? My students are all in their late teens, but even they claim to have body parts that have stopped working...

Have a great Friday, everyone, and enjoy your weekend!

Signs of Aging

I'm getting older. We all are. My kids are still not fully grown, but they are getting older (thank goodness!). 

I'm a bit older than they are, though, darn it! My husband's younger than I, but he's feeling older than he really is. He has a foot that is likely to need surgery, for every time he walks more than a few blocks it swells up and hurts for days (his mom had surgery). He's had arthritis in his hands for years, and has even had his wedding ring sized up several times, just so he can get it over his swelling knuckles. He has mystery pains everywhere, from his knees to his hips, his hair is thinning, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes it hurts for him to get up in the morning. Sometimes he can't get to sleep fast because he hurts.

I can't really whine about being old. Unlike my unfortunate husband, I can't say I've felt any effects of aging. No arthritis, no weird pains, nothing. I'm probably more spry now than I was a decade ago (since that was also several dozens of pounds ago, too). The only way I'm sure I'm getting old is that I have these smiley wrinkles right around my eyes. Since I'm pretty smiley, and very light skinned, I guess I can't be too surprised.

So, for those of you who are already feeling the effects of getting older, what's it like? What do I need to be prepared for? What should I expect? 

A Simple Wish

My head exploded

With dreams of being worthwhile

A sage of the world

Guiding readers through 

The maelstrom of life

Leading my children 

As they make themselves successful

Changing the world

Through words

(In other words, 

I took myself

Just a bit too seriously)

But as I stomped in the rain

Dreaming dreams of glory

I chanced upon a woman

A girl

Of 90 years or so

Hair white as age required

Skipping along 

In a hot pink coat.

All my dreams drifted away

Out of my Pandora's box 

Where I had stuffed them

Held them captive

Leaving only one:

When I'm ninety

May someone see me

Skipping down the street

In my white hair

And hot pink coat

And smile.