Life Matters

My glasses were on my head

By LINDA PETERSEN
Posted 2/14/20

Everyday life seems to have changed in many ways. It has been said that foods are saltier today than years ago because manufacturers use excess salt to preserve food and to increase the flavor. I am not buying it (that is, not believing it). I am a salt

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Life Matters

My glasses were on my head

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Everyday life seems to have changed in many ways. It has been said that foods are saltier today than years ago because manufacturers use excess salt to preserve food and to increase the flavor. I am not buying it (that is, not believing it). I am a salt lover and what I eat these days seems bland. Unwisely, the salt shaker visits my plate before the food is even tasted, and often makes a return trip after I have tasted it. It takes more and more salt before it is up to my standard.

Clothing manufacturers have also changed the way they make clothing. The sizes are way off! I used to be able to buy any type of clothing, size 12, off the rack and it would fit perfectly. Now, hangers full of pants and shirts are brought into the changing room and one by one they are discarded and exchanged for a larger size. I shop in women’s clothing stores where an attendant coordinates the fitting room. That way, if a larger size is needed, I can sit in my underwear while she gets it. Knowing the difference in sizes, I should just bring in the larger size in the first place, but I cannot admit that size 12 is now too small.

People these days seem to mumble. I started having difficulty on the telephone and blamed it on a bad cell phone connection. (“Can you hear me now?” “I can hear you but you are mumbling and I can’t understand you.”) It seemed to progress to people mumbling in groups, and I was relegated to smiling and shaking my head in acknowledgement, sometimes getting me in trouble. (I had inadvertently agreed to collect money door to door for a non-profit group and to volunteer at the blood drive.) Then my friends started to mumble, especially when we went out to eat in noisy restaurants. What is wrong with everyone? Are they all too lazy to form their words clearly?

I noticed the print getting smaller in the church bulletins. Even though it was assumed they just had more information to fit into the same amount of space, the smaller print has become an issue. I had to look for sales on “reader” eyeglasses at Job Lot, and now keep several pairs scattered around the house, in my car, in my purse and in my pockets. See? I was able to adjust to the smaller print that is so common these days.

Because our population has grown, the store parking lots seem much more crowded. Before, I could easily park the car and dash into the grocery store, full of energy to cruise up and down the aisles to pick out the best of the best foods. Now it seems that I park so far away that by the time I saunter into the store my legs are tired. I am relegated to going down only the few most important food aisles, and then have to go home, take Tylenol, and sit in the recliner so I can put my achy legs up.

Because I have met so many people in my lifetime, names often elude me. (It is only because of the number of people I know, not because I actually can’t remember, of course.) There is nothing more embarrassing than meeting someone in a store and trying to introduce them to Hubby. Fortunately, most people understand this issue and offer their name just in time so I don’t look ridicules.

Come to think of it, I often forget what it is I need when walking into a room, or spend forever in a frantic search for my glasses until they are finally found on my head.

Life is so different now; things have changed. It couldn’t possibly be because I am getting older, could it?

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