Wine and vinegar

My dad turned 80 this week, which strains credulity some.  Over the years he has served as my "leading indicator," and we've talked frequently about the things he is experiencing and therefore what I may expect as I age.  Unfortunately, it seems I am "ahead of schedule" on some things, but he's been an impetus to be more careful about diet and exercise, so things are OK.  At my last approximately-annual check-up (can't say I'm real good about that), my GP performed a few tests he had never done before.  He explained that he was essentially gathering baseline data for what I'll benignly label "future observations."  Of course once you hit your 40s your eyesight declines a bit, there is some "thickening," and the minor yet annoying memory lapses begin to occur more frequently.   Yet these sorts of changes, and granted I'm still fairly early in the process, kind of sneak up on you, like the realization that the aches and pains that have always healed no longer go away.   For instance, my doctor correctly noted that my hearing may be just beginning to decline ever-so-slightly.  But it's not that I don't hear as well as I used to, it's just that I don't listen as much.

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