Letting Go

It may be sung that “breaking up is hard to do” but I am finding “slowing down is hard to do.”
Yesterday I was really pleased with what I got done.  I worked in the morning, had a rest, and then worked until the evening.  I was pleased with what was achieved.
Different story today though.  I had it planned out.  Yet from the first moment I was cactus.  I had aches and felt ready to cramp up.  I decided it was too hot to do anything.  I did some stuff but not nearly as much as planned.
This all has been a bit of an eye opener to me.  I reckon I have other strings in my bow, but this heavy work is no longer one of them.  Oh maybe the string is still in the bow but it is really loose and a string I don’t want to use.  It does not seem that long ago I had to be called in when light was fading but I and stayed on to finish.  Now it would be more like, “please call me in.  I was ready for that ages ago.”
Merril and I are attempting to declutter the place.  We know there is stuff that needs to be dealt with.  We both think it would be unfair to leave a mess to be cleaned up (though we are both realistic enough to know it will not be our problem).  We are also well aware that what we treasure may be seen as inconsequential to another.  To that I say, “tough bikkies.”  That to me is one of the things that sets us apart as individuals.
But I am big on what I can do and not what I cannot.  Someone does not need to have had a stroke to need to slow down.  It comes with the aging territory.  The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak.
I find it disappointing when a person will not make adjustments for a new reality.  So often the perception seems to be “I can” and it is more and more daunting and eventually is not done at all.  That leads to a sense that the world is closing in and life is all too much.
Mostly there are those willing to do such things and may even get paid to do it.  I guess that leads to one of the things that I think can be unfair.  A person remains in a job when there is another ready and willing to take it on.  But they can’t because the person in the job will not let go.
Maybe no one will do something like me – immediately.  But there is a good chance they will do it better than me in time.  The right person “owns” a position.  They may want to do it and do it well.
This is speculation but I think it is right.  Down the road there is a house that always looked good.  Then it started to look overgrown and neglected.  It made me wonder if the owner had gotten too old or something had happened to them.  Then a car appeared, and all looks beautiful again.  It is like the person now doing the job goes above and beyond.
That to me is what it is about.  There is nothing like older age to make a person realize some tasks are now for another.  I am too old for some things, but I am not too old for everything.