Not bouncing back so quickly anymore...

I'm just now getting back to finding a moment or two to think and maybe write a few lines. This past weekend flew by, leaving me feeling like a wet dishrag that someone had wrung out and hung on the sink to dry. Seems like one of the things about getting older is that your (my) stamina decreases exponentially. Of course, I realize that we all age differently, and there are plenty of elderwomen out there engaging in much more physical - and mental - exercise than I do, and likely feeling less tired. I've never been overly physical - I skiied until I was in my early forties and a third broken ankle (same ankle, three times) caused me to hang up my skis permanently. Since then, I've done some swimming, boating, biking and hiking, but none of those on anything resembling a consistent basis. Just recently, I have discovered the Leslie Sansone *walking* videos - at home walking, that is. Walking in front of the TV set or computer monitor. I've been walking a mile in the AM before getting ready for work, another mile in my office (with the door closed) at lunchtime, and another mile when I get home from work. This exercise seems to work well for me, and what's especially good about it, I think, is that I won't have to look for alternatives when it snows out as I did last year when I was riding a bike around the neighborhood trying to get fit. Now, I'm not trying to regain my "youthful figure" - I think that's pretty much gone at this point - but I don't want to get TOO heavy, I DO want to build up some stamina, and I DO want to remain healthy if I possibly can for as long as I possibly can. But, about the LOSS of stamina - and feeling tired when I do anything out of my ordinary schedule: we went to my husband's nephew's wedding this past Saturday, out in New Haven, CT - close to a two-hour drive from where we live. We left at 3:00 in the afternoon and got home at 1:00 the following morning. Then, on Sunday, I had my daughter & her husband and little girl, and my other daughter and her husband and little boy for supper to celebrate my son-in-law's birthday. I didn't do any cooking that required a whole lot of preparation - a pork loin roast, baked potatoes with sour cream, corn (my son-in-law's favorite vegetable), a big tossed salad, homemade apple sauce, gravy, and the kids brought cakes and desserts. They all left by 7:30 or so because everyone had to be at work or school the next morning. And I was absolutely done in! I took a short soak in the tub, and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The weekend just flew right by, and before I knew it, my alarm clock was squawking, and it was 5:30 Monday morning. And I was STILL tired last night, and went to bed by 8:30. I'm finding that it takes me longer now, to bounce back from any change in routine. I ALSO think it makes me tired just thinking about the state of our country and those people who are vying for the head honcho positions. I won't make this a political rant, but for GAWDS sake, what are they THINKING? How sad - and gullible - can people be (or maybe the question REALLY is - how racist are they?) that they would even consider supporting a narcissistic old man like McCain with a running mate who is so flippantly nasty, so drivingly ambitious and power-hungry? Hell, if they get elected, she'll probably drop a little strychnine into his morning coffee just so she can be # 1. After all, she has no problem killing animals - and introducing her young daughters to the pleasures of shooting a moose in the face in order to pose next to it - she follows the laws of the wild, and when you could serve her interests better by dying, I don't think she'd hesitate to "cull you from the herd". If I were John McCain, and they DO get elected - well, I'd just watch my step if I were him, that's all. And, as far as her understanding foreign policy because of Alaska's proximity to Russia, an NPR commentator (I apologize for forgetting his name) said it best, I think, when he noted that he was standing next to Lake Michigan, but that "it didn't make him a duck". Now, mind you, it's not myself so much that I worry for. It's my children and grandchildren. I've lived the greater part of my own life, and I've raised my family. They're the ones who will have to deal with what happens to this country because of the greed and ruthlessness of those at the top. It'll take generations to "bounce back" from this mess. So, no wonder I feel tired, eh?