September 22, 2009

On a recent visit to my 84 year old mother I was distressed to see that she had food stains on the front of her dress. She takes pride in her appearance, dressing with an eye to color and style, carefully choosing jewelry to enhance her outfit, so I knew this was because she was unaware and not because she didn't care. Her eyesight is not as sharp nor her fingers are as nimble as in days gone by. I've also noticed that when we share a meal together food tends to stick to her lip, or a crumb will adhere to her chin for the duration of the meal. This I can point out and she can take care of it with a napkin. I wonder is this a benchmark of advancing age?

The next day I was giving my daughter a ride to work and since I had missed lunch I was munching on an apple while driving a manual shift car. It was a good apple, crisp, juicy and inevitably my hand got a little sticky and I was uncomfortably aware that I was transferring apple juice to the shift lever. When I got home I found that wasn't the only thing to get sticky. My fresh white T shirt had light yellow spots down the front. Food stains! If I pay attention when I do laundry I can probably return my white T shirt to its pristine condition. But how many shirts have I spoiled by drinking coffee or black tea while driving? Do I notice when I toss one on?

I may not be able to reverse the aging process as it softens my jawline, thickens my waistline and deprives my skin of elasticity but I can go back to eating and drinking in a civilized fashion.

I often eat lunch and breakfast by myself and I am addicted to reading. Yet it is, I have found, rather messy to eat while reading. The book has to be maintained in an open position with one hand, the newspaper if not folded very carefully tends to be too far away from the plate. As for driving while drinking coffee well who doesn't? The results are not pleasant. Butter smears, tomato sauce splashes, ice cream splodges all decorated with indelible coffee drips. It only takes one drop of coffee to convert a sexy little T to an old-lady top. So I ask myself am I dining or merely stuffing my face?