28. Sexy 60’s, Dancing, Cooking, Virus!

Thoughts Before My Sixtieth Birthday – 5^th February

My Thoughts on Eve of my Birthday:   Most women would lie if it never bothered them reaching the age of 60.  I suppose it depends on each person’s experience to appreciate the enormity of reaching that age.  When I was so much younger, I couldn’t envision myself at that age either.  I was young, ambitious, felt infallible and nothing was going to hold me back from my potential.  Turning around the corner of sixty made me reflect a great deal.  I remembered my care-free years of youth, how I threw away my inhibitions and had little fear to tackle new challenges that life threw at me.  As I got older I became more cautious in certain areas.  Since my illness I grew to be more accepting of my limitations, physical changes, growing older and had to learn to be more patient in general.  That mindset helped me a great deal during my recovery period.

My Limitations:  I’ve had a year of virtual inactivity in comparison to the sports and actions from before my attack.   Even though I worked on my exercises during recovery, it wasn’t any where near my previous physical pursuits.   My waistline had spread to an extra “michellin tyre”.   I no longer had the “gap” between my legs, lost my youthful looks and constantly wondered where the younger version of me had disappeared to whenever I looked at the reflection in the mirror.   I tackled the limitations of my ever changing daily deeds, which honestly had severely tried my patience at times.    I’m sure a lot of women would empathise with the mourning of the loss of youth and lessons in having to adapt to changes in their body shape and lifestyle.   However, this time of my reflections was not of grief and regrets of what I could have and hadn’t done “moments”.  It was a time for acceptance, be more patience and embrace what was to come.  As I said good bye to the old “me” I decided to embrace the “New Me” and any new trials ahead.

My Birthday:  I decided to celebrate by the posting of a photo of when it all began, as a baby.  It felt really strange as I viewed that image. I thought of my innocence and the future years of untapped potential from 1960.  During the day I received wonderful Birthday messages, cards, gifts and calls from friends and family like, Chuck and Susan.  I was so touched.  Susan, my sister, husband Luke and their daughter, Lydia, had created an amazing personalized birthday card made up of old images of me at various stages of my life.

8^th – 9^th February – Birthday Weekend in Gibraltar

Belated Birthday Celebration Plans:   Colin had arranged with John, Anisa and group of friends to spend a weekend away at “The Sunborn Boat” based in Gibraltar. It was to celebrate both mine (on the 6^th) and John’s (on the 8^th) Birthdays.   In the afternoon some of us went on a walk up and down Gibraltar high street to do some shopping.  I felt a bit awkward because I obviously held everyone up as I limped along at my own slow pace.  Each time I tried to speed up a little, Colin held my hand and said, “don’t panic, we have plenty of time”.  I guess my frustration must have shown.

Surprise Indonesian Lunch:  We chose a local Indonesian eatery called, “Rock Noodles”, for our lunch recommended by the hotel.   To be honest, it was pretty small and resembled more like a takeaway place rather than a normal looking café / restaurant, which was hidden down a side street.  Nevertheless, as my bad ankle began to hurt, I was grateful for an excuse to rest.  We managed to squeeze ourselves around a table inside the cramped premises, while we witnessed a constant queue of people outside waiting to collect their takeaway orders.  We took this as a decent indication that the food would be good and proceeded to order our lunch, which Anisa and I later agreed was quite authentic and delicious.  We had an additional treat from the charming Indonesian lady owner when she presented our group with one of her signature dishes, lamb satay (kebabs).   I had never tasted them before because I always used to eat pork or chicken satay.  After sampling her lamb version, I was determined to get the recipe for my future “Indonesian Recipe” page in our magazine.   We all vowed to try the place again the next time we stayed in Gibraltar.  It was even better when we discovered that they provided a takeaway delivery service to our hotel rooms.  What a gem of a find.  That lunch had turned out to be a really special and an unexpected treat for all of us that afternoon.

Everybody Knew:   We had a lovely group of friends for John and Me to share our birthdays.   Anisa had arranged for John and myself to have “Birthday” balloons attached to our seats.  John had a “Happy Birthday” one, but I had a “Happy 60^th Birthday” message on mine.  It announced my age to the rest of the restaurant! 

We had a wonderful meal.  I still felt uncomfortable in attempting to use my bad left arm in the restaurant, therefore, I selected a Thai green curry so that I could eat easily with one hand.  Our friend, Dennis, provided the live music that night but I wasn’t in the mood to get up to dance this time.  I wanted to savor the night and enjoy more time talking and laughing with our table.  John and I had the added surprise gift of personalized chocolate cup cake treats from the restaurant.  It was such a lovely gesture and we both indulged ourselves.  They were so delicious.   Afterward we went onto the hotel casino for drinks.   It was a wonderful, fun night and I was totally spoiled.

Saturday 9^th February

We met for breakfast, all in a different state of bleariness from the night before.  We all agreed that it had been a pleasant day/night.  I was surprised that after the excitement of the previous day that I hadn’t suffered too much from pain and fatigue.  Before we checked out to do our “Morrison’s supermarket” shopping, we caught up on the various previous night antics, news about the coming “Super Moon” and shocking news about our friend Joe:

Super Moon:   We were in for a treat to witness the “Super Moon” to be in the early hours of Sunday:   “The full moon of February, called the Snow Moon, occurs in the eastern U.S. during the wee hours of Sunday, Feb. 9, about a day before reaching perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit — creating a full moon that appears slightly larger than average.  The full moon happens when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. Most of the time, the moon is illuminated by sunlight. Once in a while, though, the moon’s orbit carries it within the shadow of Earth, as happened in January 2019, when there was a total lunar eclipse. February’s full moon “missed” Earth’s shadow, because the moon’s orbit was slightly tilted (or inclined) five degrees with respect to the plane of Earth’s orbit, and therefore Earth wasn’t directly between the sun and the moon.  Through binoculars or a small telescope, the full moon appears almost unbearably bright. While it isn’t dangerous to one’s eyes, it can be hard to spot detail”.    

Sad News About Joe:  I previously mentioned Joe, the gregarious, funny Irish man from the “Dog House Bar”, when we watched the Rugby World Cup.  That morning we had the horrible news that Joe had been admitted into hospital from a serious stroke and was put into an induced coma.  The details came as a terrible shock and we hoped that he would recover from this.  The information felt more personal for me as it was a bit too close to my own memories and recovery during the previous year.   I felt terrible for his friends and family that had to go through the same emotions and trauma that my own endured.  I truly hoped for a lucky break and that recovery for him would be possible, as it had been for me.

Wednesday 12^th February

Live Music Night:  The “Dog House” hosted a special live music night so we met up with some of the gang from the Gibraltar weekend and other friends.   The duo entertainers had flown in especially from the UK to provide the music.  As they had limited space, the “Dog House” had wisely pre-sold tickets weeks in advance.  The place was full that night and there was a vibrant and lively atmosphere as most of the girls in our group got up to dance to the music.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hadn’t felt too self conscious when I joined them dancing.  I felt really happy that my dance movements had improved slightly, but I had to remain dancing on the spot, as my balance was still rather dodgy if I tried to move my legs too much.   I really didn’t care, it was a start toward me trying to dance more naturally and I had fun.

Thursday 13^th February

More Aches and Pains:  I had excruciating pains in my left foot, especially the top of the instep area.   I felt stiff and had more difficulty to walk comfortably.  I guess the activities of the previous night had taken their toll on me.  My limp was more pronounced as I couldn’t bend my left knee with each step.  No dancing for me for a while!

Thicker Hair:  Colin noticed my hair looked thicker and in better condition.  I actually hadn’t noticed so much before, but because Colin had mentioned it, I realized that I hadn’t lost the usual amount of hair after a wash or brush.  Before, I got annoyed as the crown of my head gradually become thinner and developed a balding area over a period of months during the year before my attack.  I dismissed this as fact of my age. I was in my late fifties and advancing fast toward my sixtieth birthday.  I really didn’t know why there were changes in my hair, but I was really happy that the balding area had gradually grown back.  Perhaps it had been my medication, better eating habits or the exercise?  Or perhaps a combination of all three?

Sunday 16^th February

Golf Driving Range:   It had taken a few days for my bad ankle and leg to loosen up. The awful pain and stiffness eased off a little.  I was back to feeling more confident, especially as my left arm had better movement. Colin took me to “Atalaya Golf Range”.  I was apprehensive as this meant we would be practicing with other golfers around, but Colin told me to not be so silly.  While he practiced his swing on the driving range, I gingerly made my way around the putting area and made a few successful putts to my surprise.  Colin walked over to me and told me that I should try to swing my pitching club.  I thought, “yeah right!”, as I limped toward our reserved area and used my pitching club like a walking stick for support on the soft grass.  I must have made a strange sight as I prepared myself in between other able bodied golfers striking their golf balls their long distances. 

My first few attempts were rather pathetic. I kept missing the ball and I became increasingly irritated with myself, as my embarrassment grew.  Colin wouldn’t let me sit until I at least hit one ball.  Thankfully I actually managed to strike one over 50 meters!  That was no where near how far I used to strike in my past, but I felt so happy, I couldn’t help saying out loud a “whey hay!” in satisfaction.   At least I had proven to myself that I was capable of a little swing, so it had spurred me onto making more strikes.   At least I hadn’t fallen over either!  We decided to go for a lunch time drink to celebrate.  I was determined to improve my swing so the next time could further.

Even More Aches and Pains:  I suffered again the following day, like the day after my dance escapade.  I always never learn moderation!

Saturday 20^th February

Luke in Hospital:  My sister, Susan, rang me to inform us that her husband, Luke, was in hospital.  Apparently he had been suffering a while with stomach pains and resulted in surgery on his gall bladder.  Colin and I were always fond of Luke.  He’s a wonderful husband to Susan and a good father to my niece, Lydia.  We wanted to show our affection for him, so I ordered over the internet a personalized coffee mug, card and a jar of his favorite coffee to be delivered to their home in time for his release.  I was really pleased that it arrived safely – it was just a small gesture on our part.

Saturday 22^nd February

British Blue Passports:  Boris Johnson and his government announced that Britain would revert back to the previous British blue passports. This was to confirm their intent to leave the European market.  I was really pleased that I managed to get the EU pink version earlier this year before the stocks ran out.  Now we will shall see if Johnson’s government can complete their policy to “get Brexit done”.

Cooking Again – Indonesian Lamb Satay (kebabs):  Today I tried to create the lamb satay from the Indonesian eatery in Gibraltar a few weeks ago.  I still continued to use my electric chopper.  Although my finger movements had improved a little, my grip was still too weak to hold onto what ever I tried to chop.  It really was so maddening.  However, it was worthwhile when Colin gave me the “thumbs up” sign in approval.

Monday 24^th February

Fell on Walk with Oscar:   Colin and I decided on an experiment and let Oscar off his leash for the first time on the beach.   I couldn’t control my balance on the soft sand so I stood and watched from the pavement, as Colin and Oscar walked along the water’s edge.  It was wonderful to see Oscar run around so free and chase the birds.  I was amazed that whenever he ran too far, he automatically returned to Colin the moment he whistled.   Just as I was getting a little more confident with my walking, I suddenly lost my footing while I dismounted the pavement to take try to take a photo.  I had a terrible fall, cut my bad hand and knee.    To my embarrassment, I wasn’t able to get up again.  I saw Colin in the distance so I waved to indicate that I needed his help to get back up.  Unfortunately Colin assumed that I had decided to sit down, waved back and walked even further away!  I had no choice but to wait until he and Oscar returned from their walk.  What a stupid predicament.  It taught me not to be so cocky the next time I wanted to go for a walk without company.  That incident had really affected my self-confidence.

Wednesday 26^th February

Patricia’s Birthday Celebration:  A group of us gathered for lunch to celebrate Patricia’s birthday.  We had a delicious set meal and plenty of laughing.  The husbands and partners later joined us for drinks, but I don’t think they were too impressed when some of us broke out to into song and waved our arms above our heads to the music.  I think our other halves were pretty relieved when we all calmed down and joined them for drinks later.

Corona Virus Crisis:  The general news in the media had escalated.  The virus had expanded from China and seemed there were pockets of evidence of outbreaks in various countries in Europe.  Italy especially became most prominent with the increased amount of infections and deaths on a daily basis.  The frightening overall fear was that the contagion will become a pandemic throughout the world ………..

Please view next page 29 at link “Movement, Quarantine & Lock Down”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/29-more-movement-last-girlie-get-together-corona-virus-quarantine-strange-new-homelife-in-lock-down/

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