Wanabee Quiltin

I was at dinner with friends last night and since we are all 50 + years old, we started talking about our energy levels and how much we can accomplish in a day now compared to when we were younger. One woman said she saw a video about our energy being compared to 10 spoons. She said that each morning you have 10 spoons of energy given to you. If you decide to paint your living room and clean it up in one day, that will most likely take all 10 spoons of energy. If you decide to do some laundry, vac the floors, dust the house and straighten up the quilt room, then that might take 9 or 10 (depending on how bad that quilt room looks). The idea is that each day we need to not use up any more than 10 spoons of energy. We need to be realistic about what we do so we do not wear ourselves out. My DH and I have talked a great deal about this lately and kind of follow this idea too. Each morning we discuss what we want to do and what is possible. We don't accomplish even half of what we did when we were in our 20's and 30's but that's OK, we do have a nice clean house and our yard looks nice. We work hard for a few days and then we have some fun or just lay back and read books. This thread is mainly for older people but I think even younger people can relate to their parent's energy levels as they get older. I am 71 and DH is 76. We still do a great deal of work, far more than any of my friends in their 60's so that shows that the energy in those 10 spoons is not the same for everyone.

feline fanatic

The spoon analogy was actually written by a woman suffering from Lupus. https://butyoudontlooksick.com/artic...-spoon-theory/

But it is such a good analogy it can be applied to just about anyone. The idea is when you are young and healthy you pretty much have unlimited spoons. So I think different people, depending on their health, both physical and mental, can start with different amounts of spoons. One little thing can change it, and it even changes from day to day with some chronic illnesses. And it is entirely possible to try and use more spoons then you have for the day. Many of us will pay for that the next day by starting with even less spoons than normal.

Tartan

​I think of all my mother did at my age and feel like a wimp.

mamagrande

A few years ago DH and I would work in the yard, but not with his hip pain and heart problems, most of the yard care lies with me. I am 75 and am pretty able to do most of it, but that drains me and I am then too tired to do any sewing. We have a big yard so mowing takes about 3 hours, with a walk behind mower. Yes, sometimes my spoons runneth over.

marge954

I have been thinking about this a lot lately because I have always been the person who couldn't sit still. I am now 62 and have begun to see that I get tired easier and have more aches and pains than I did four years ago. I find myself sitting down during the day way more than I used to. I also thought when I lost my job two years ago I'd quilt all day long and I don't find myself doing that. When DH has a day off we get some things done but he is so tired from job stress that we don't always accomplish much. I think mental exhaustion plays a part in our tiredness also. I don't deal with handling problems as well as I used to. Calling the phone company to get someone to come out and figure out why the internet isn't working properly causes a stress where it used to be just a thing to be taken care of. Paying the bills, going to the doctor or just cleaning the house seems like a chore for me now.

redstilettos

AMEN to that, Tartan!
Until my mother was diagnosed with Cancer (one year, cancer free...yay!) she could run circles around people literally half her age. Now she has slowed down some, but still is more active than people her own age of 70!

GEMRM

I think also that the more you stay active then the more you can do.... I know that the days I get up and get going right away, I get a lot more done, I feel more energetic and I sleep better too.

Wonnie

Aside from illness, when working there were always daily events, little "excitements" if you will, that kept us moving along, getting ready for work, dealing with traffic, time schedules, project deadlines, meetings, reports, etc. then, hurry home to fix supper, get ready for whatever evening events you had planned and so on. Always goals to be made and met. And then,.............you retire.........if single, your time is your own........you get back into your quilting, sewing, all kinds of sit-down activitiies that you never had time for when you were working and raising a family and.........it becomes just TOO easy to just.......sit there.....content......warm....quilt rack up....TV on.....and it doesn't take long at all for your energy level to dissipate. ....and your hips to spread. Walking was always my thing.....LOVED it!......but, I've sat so long being content that when my son says, "This is a gorgeous park. Let's go for a little walk" I offer as much resisitance as a 5 yr. old being told they had to eat their spinach or they couldn't go outside. I'll be 80 in a couple of months and, even though I know there is energy loss as you grow older, for myself, I feel that I have to accept part of the blame. Spent all my working and child rearing years being highly goal oriented but then, when I retired, I failed to set any goals for myself except to enjoy each day doing the things I couldn't before.

Jingle

We retired first of this year. My goal for the last five or more years has been to use up as much of my fabric stash as possible before I go to the big quilting studio in the sky. I sew at least 4-5 hours most everyday. I finished a comforter in Jan. and have made 9 kid sized quilts, now I am making a queen quilt for us.
My husband gets outside most everyday and works like he use to on the weekends when we were working. Not me. Somedays I have boundless energy, not a lot any more. I sure am enjoying my quilt making though.

quiltingshorttimer

I retired 4 yrs ago from a mentally high stress (and sometimes emotionally as I was a mental health professional)career. while I don't just sit every day like my Mom ended up doing when she retired, I do find that I "pace" myself more now--I think part of that is I have the time to stretch things out--so now instead of staying up until 1am sewing and quilting because that was the only time I had, now I'll sew or quilt for 4-6 hrs during the day--and stay up on the Quilt Board until 1am! due to arthritis, both DH and I are finding that there are some farm chores that we need help getting done,which bums both of us out. Plus I'm no longer able to stand the heat, so outside work is limited.