Since I’ve gotten older, I realize how heavy things have become. These changes don’t happen overnight, but they’re gradual enough that it often takes a specific event to notice them. Recently, I made a trip to the grocery store. After I returned home and carried the items one plastic bag at a time from the car into the kitchen and set them on the table, I was putting the foodstuffs away. I grabbed a gallon of milk off the table to place it in the refrigerator. The added weight, threw me off balance and I fell. Afterwards, I was curious how much a gallon of milk weighed. It registered 8 pounds 14 ounces on our kitchen scales. That’s probably the heaviest thing I lift regularly. I make sure my feet are firmly planted before I pick up the jug.
I’ve never lifted weights but growing up a farm girl, I’ve always felt strong and could heft most things in the household. Now, I carry the filled 2 1/2 quart casserole dish carefully to make sure I don’t drop it.
After stirring up a cake in my large mixing bowl, I start putting it in the 9 x 13 baking pan, one large spoonful at a time. When I’m about half done, I can hold the bowl up and scrape the rest of the batter out of it.
It’s all I can do to open some entrance doors to a large building. People who hold a door open for me don’t realize they’re doing more than a common courtesy.
I have trouble with those over-the-counter pill bottles that contain pain relievers or allergy remedies and a lid that says hold down and turn. It may take me several tries to hold down firm enough. The boxes with every pill in a separate little pocket require strong fingers to release one.
Do you have any tricks to by-pass a problem that requires strength?