The day began with promise and anticipation, in spite of dreams again last night or this morning. One of my summer herd wanted me to bring my trailer; five were needed. I woke up before I found out why five and for what. Maybe future additions in future dreams.
Our summer herd has declined. There used to be 10 of us. Some have died and others have moved. Now there are three originals. (Unofficial founders).
We have had major changes just over the winter. All of us have lost physical strength and have developed physical issues. One has developed a painful condition where her diet is severely limited. Another has a husband who is critically ill. He tries to take care of himself to spare her energy, but generally ends up taking away more than he saves. She is energy deficient. I have the mobility problem, in addition to issues with my endurance and the altitude.
None of us are happy about these changes, nor are we really accepting of them. We still think we should be able to do everything.
Robert Havighurst, a developmental psychologist in the 50s, proposed a learning theory he addressed as developmental tasks across the ages of a lifetime.
From my research, and according to Havighurst, a developmental task arises at or about a certain period in the life of the individual, the successful achievement of which leads to happiness and success with later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness in the individual, disapproval by society and difficulty with later tasks. (Our age group has the last set of tasks. We should inform Robert).
The task for our age group is adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health. He nailed it. If he ever wanted examples or subjects, here we are.
Robert would say you all have declining physical strength and health. What are you going to do about it? Obviously the first thing I did was to ignore him. I still think I can do everything. Then reality crashes in. I can do everything for about 30 minutes then I have to rest,
I hooked up the watering system yesterday for the flowers in the front of my home and it did me in. My legs were jelly. That consisted of attaching a hose from the faucet to the timer to the irrigation line. It was a really big project. As with any project, though,I had to make several trips back-and-forth for supplies and tools.
I was unconvinced. I could do more. I rested for a while, then cleaned up the flower bed and transplanted my migrated geraniums. That really turned my legs to jelly, plus my entire body screamed at me to quit.
No, the man was here to move the garden bed. He needed supplies and directions. Fortunately, I didn’t have to assist him with lifting and digging. The bed was moved, and is awaiting new soil.
I have a garden bed full of promise, but I was forced to retreat to my chair.
No re-entry into life today. I’m going to have to decide if I’m going to believe Robert or not. Maybe during the night, Superman’s plutonium or kryptonite or whatever he dishes out will be infused into my system, and tomorrow I can do, maybe not everything, but almost everything.
That is probably what the trailers were for — delivering energy and health to our herd. But why five?
Contemplation: Are you paying attention to our developmental tasks?
Let me know how you are doing. I care.
Sincerely,
Lynn Brooke
© 2023 Our New Chances
Photo Credit: © 2023 Rachel Gareau
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