I'm Shrinking!

Written by Lorena M. Estep

This article is courtesy of Mature Living.

"What do you mean I'm shrinking?”"
 
I had just flung the question at the nurse in horrid disbelief. 

"Well, you used to be 4 feet 11½ inches, and now you measure 4 feet 10½ inches. You've shrunk an inch," she replied patiently.

Aging Is an Attitude: Positive Ways to Look at Getting Older

"That just can't be," I argued. "You must have measured wrong, or perhaps I wasn't standing up straight."

I pressed my back against the wall and stood as tall as someone under five feet possibly can. "Check it again," I requested.

She checked again. "Yep! Four feet 10½ inches. Sorry."

"But I can't afford to shrink," I wailed as I followed her into a room to await the new physician who had replaced my recently retired doctor.

Insult was added to injury when the doctor, a lovely young woman, entered the room. She stood at least 6 feet 2 inches tall.

"I hear you're in denial," she stated with a laugh.

"Yes, I can't afford to shrink," I moaned. "No one can see me as it is. You wouldn't believe how many times I nearly get stepped on because everyone is looking over my head. It can only get worse if I keep shrinking.

"Right now I have to use a chair to reach items on the top shelves of my cupboards. Soon I'll need a stepladder on rollers to do the job."

I discovered my new doctor had a great sense of humor. We discussed and laughed over many things besides medical problems, and when I left I felt we had forged a good doctor/patient bond.

As I was driving home, I thought how depressing it must be for doctors when they have to disclose bad news to a seriously ill patient or their family. Compared to many illnesses I can think of, shrinking is a minor inconvenience. And I had to remember that God made me exactly the way He wanted me.

It also helped me to remember that Zacchaeus was a very small man who climbed a tree, and Jesus singled him out for special attention.

I laughed when I thought of my grandson Rayne's prediction a few years earlier. Since I'm the shortest adult in our family, the children use me as their growth yardstick. They're so excited when they finally get taller than Grandma. When Rayne was 7, he said, 'Gram, when I'm 9, I might be as tall as you. Maybe even sooner, because old people shrink.'
 
Jesus said worrying wouldn't help us grow any taller (Matt. 6:27). I expect the reverse of that is true – worry won't keep you from shrinking either.

Lorena M. Estep is a retired social worker in Tyrone, Penn. She enjoys writing and caring for her theme garden.