I know that change is just a natural and even necessary part of life, and I accept that. I really do. But that doesn’t stop me from getting annoyed by all the little changes that keep popping up as I’m going about my day. Especially since it really does seem as if the older I get, the more changes I have to deal with. And in case anyone thinks I’m exaggerating, I’m providing a few real-life examples to show just exactly what I’m talking about.
I was shopping for some new Fall clothes yesterday, and was thrilled to walk into a store that had a big display of light-weight sweaters in the exact style and brand that I had bought several years ago. I remembered that sweater was both comfortable and flattering, so I grabbed a few of my favorite colors and headed into the dressing room to see which one looked the best. But none of them looked good on me. All of them drooped a bit in the bust-line and bulged around the midsection (The fact that the sweater’s bulges corresponded with the bulges on my actual body was, I’m sure, nothing more than an unhappy coincidence.) Clearly, the new sweaters were designed to be looser in the bust and tighter in the waist….which was a change that I didn’t appreciate one little bit.
I’ve also noticed that the quality of cell phones has declined dramatically. I used to have no problem carrying on a conversation on my cell phone. But these days I often have trouble making out just exactly what the other person is saying. When I was talking to my son recently, I was positive he mentioned that he and his wife were going to a topless bar for dinner. My son may be a grown man, but I’m still his mother, so I asked, “Why in the world are you two going to a topless bar?” Turns out, they weren’t. They were going to a tapas bar. And thank goodness for that.
The changes are everywhere. Books are now printed with smaller letters that are impossible to read without a bright light and really strong reading glasses. Restaurant meals are made with richer ingredients that are very difficult to digest, especially if accompanied by a glass of wine. The actors on television shows now speak so softly that I have to turn up the volume really high just to hear them. They’ve even messed with the system for measuring weights, because I know for a fact that twenty pounds feels a lot heavier than it used to. The list of changes I have to cope with these days is practically endless.
It’s not fair. It’s hard enough to get older without also struggling to deal with a constant succession of changes each and every day of my life. Is it really too much to ask that at least some things can remain the same? I don’t think so. And as soon as I figure out just which organization is responsible for all these crazy changes, I’m going to demand that they stop it immediately. I’ll let you know how that goes.