Not Being Able To Do What You Used To Be Able To Do

NO! Not that!

Something else.  For most of my working life I've been able to do most things practically.  Working on my cars, plumbing, electrics (trained electrician), brickwork, rendering, landscaping, fencing, glazing, you probably get the picture.  Being trained as a sparks, you actually learn a lot more including carpentry and so DIY and being practical are all part of things I've done and probably saved myself loads.

I took one look at the re-pointing and brickwork needed and knew I needed someone to do it for me.  My body wouldn't have stood up to all the hard work - it took two guys two and a half days to do it so I guessed that it would have taken me about a week and a half but I just knew, deep inside, that I would have ended up with a bad back, very sore knees and aching everywhere.

Age creeps up on you and suddenly you are the same age as old people.  My last major project - the driveway gates which are each over 2 metres wide and 1.8 metres tall showed me how unfit I am and also the limitations of my powers.  I had a bad back and knees from that but also noticed I got Trigger Finger which took about 3 months to get over and very painful it was too.  Having to use splints to help the repair!

I have a back and knee braces to assist and planting in the garden or any strenuous work needs to be thought through so I don't hurt or injure myself.

It's asking others to do something for you that I also find difficult although I know that they are OK with it, not being able to do something is actually an injury to your pride as much as anything.  I have a loose tap but I am not flexible enough to get behind the unit and tighten it up.  I know that A is and he's done it before and is happy to do it yet I feel like I'm some sort of burden and a failure for not being able to do it myself. It's blindingly obvious that this should happen but your mind says you can do it and your body informs you otherwise!

I see now how difficult it is to ask for help or assistance.  Very difficult indeed.  You want to do all this stuff yourself but physically, you can no longer mover mountains, leap tall buildings, catch bullets with your teeth and so on.