The Shrink

(Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay)

 I am not writing about therapy today, despite the title to this blog entry. Instead and arising from that wellness appointment yesterday, came the discovery that sadly I really am shrinking.

A year or so ago, I had hoped that regular Pilates sessions might have arrested the progress of compression of the vertebrae that it seems the human body inclines towards as it ages. Indeed, there was a point when I was convinced that I had stretched myself out so as to regain my full height and even held lofty ambitions of perhaps adding another inch to my stature.  

I had suspicions, however, that my efforts were no longer proceeding as hoped, aware that I now regularly struggle to open top windows or the upper shelf of a kitchen cabinet, even on tiptoes. The nurse delivered the slapdown with an adjustment of my medical records and that was it, a whole inch removed from the database.

I suppose if we are all in the same boat then everyone of a certain age is shrinking concurrently. Relative to each other we all look much the same, even if more of us are now unable to reach that top shelf without the assistance of a stool.

Mister E towers above me by about a foot. He can lift his arm and reach those out of way places that I can only imagine but without a step ladder never see. It also means he views the landscape from a different perspective and presumably can see over the top of the hill before me. Conversely, closer to the ground, I must get to examine the floor and my feet more easily.

I understand that we generally shrink half an inch every decade after we reach 40, so there's clearly nothing unusual about my height loss. Starting from a lower threshold than many, it is of course a bit of a nuisance and I'm wondering if there comes a point when you have your kitchen counters lowered or, and in order to see out, even your window ledges?

Longevity sounds a wonderful idea but imagine how much shorter we will be at 120? By my reckoning that will be another 3 inches assuming, of course, there's no stoop to amplify the shrinkage. Does there come a day when once again, just like a child, you get your head patted by well meaning tall people? 

Retirement continues to deliver its experiences.