“I know who you are”… conversations start this way now, with people walking up to talk with “Bob the research guy”.

This woman had something to share… the focus of her angst was cereal… not cereal per say, but the bag inside the box. She put her hands up as if trying to open an invisible cereal container and began to pull it apart… it wouldn’t budge.

Funny what you take for granted… I hate those bags too… I pull too hard and the bag splits down the side… it’s a real mess. But compared to this woman I had it easy.

It was clear that this really bothers her… not just because it’s hard, but because it didn’t used to be. And even though it seems those bags were made easier to open years ago, she is at a point where physically she can’t pull it open.

Being the compulsive problem solver I am, I suggested a pair of scissors in the cereal cupboard… knowing even as I said it that the bag wasn’t the issue. She talked about everything from mayonnaise jars to the gas cap on her car… all of which have conspired against her. She even spoke of having trouble turning the door knob at her doctor’s office when visiting him about arthritis in her hands.

I figure about 5 times is about right… just doing the day-to-day things that younger people take for granted is about 5 times harder for an older adult… and I’m not talking 80 or older… this creeps up on you and stalks you even in your late 40’s and 50’s.

When you think about it, the life of an older adult is one of perseverance and overcoming challenges… who among us younglings would be able to deal with all our daily tasks being at 5X? Not me… even with scissors.