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<\/a>Each\u00a0decade in life brings new discoveries, experiences and, let’s face it, challenges.\u00a0 As a teenager absolutely everything is life-altering and of utmost importance<\/strong>.\u00a0 Parents are so<\/em> unreasonable and if Johnny doesn’t ask Mary to prom she will just die<\/em>.\u00a0 In my case I wondered which college would overlook my mediocre grades and focus on my sparkling personality.\u00a0 And it seems everything\u00a0– and everyone – is embarrassing.\u00a0\u00a0Unfortunately I had\u00a0a truly embarrassing incident\u00a0<\/strong>when I got a ride home from a boy whose affections I coveted.\u00a0 I had just finished gymnastics practice so\u00a0 I jumped in his car and sat – speechless –\u00a0clutching my bundle of\u00a0street clothes, waiting for him to ask me out.\u00a0 He didn’t.\u00a0 And to further my humiliation<\/strong>, when I got home\u00a0I discovered that my garter belt was missing (yes, I lived before pantyhose were mass produced).\u00a0 I panicked, sifting through my\u00a0pile of clothes time and time again but to no avail.\u00a0 The belt was\u00a0missing and the only place it could be was in the car of my “crush”.\u00a0 My\u00a0 horror only increased as I imagined him driving down the main drag<\/strong>, my garter belt flowing in the breeze atop his antenna, signifying some sort of trophy.\u00a0 The next day I walked warily through the school parking lot but mercifully\u00a0his antenna\u00a0was unadorned.\u00a0 I never did find out what happened to it but my guess is that I dropped it somewhere between the gym and the parking lot, prompting the janitor to wonder what exactly had been going on in the senior quad.\u00a0 At the time I was certain that my life was ruined.\u00a0 Such is the angst\u00a0of the teenage years.<\/p>\nI’ll keep you posted on my progress.\u00a0 In the mean time, I’m going to buy some more cheaters<\/strong> for my purse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Each\u00a0decade in life brings new discoveries, experiences and, let’s face it, challenges.\u00a0 As a teenager absolutely everything is life-altering and of utmost importance.\u00a0 Parents are so unreasonable and if Johnny doesn’t ask Mary to prom she … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Jabba-the-Hutt-star-wars-34247897-2707-1548-300x172.jpg\")
<\/a>College and early adulthood bring their own set of challenges<\/strong> to most of us, from drinking\u00a0too much to careless career moves.\u00a0 I remember quitting a job once because I was working for one of the all-time jerks.\u00a0 My friends\u00a0were appalled that I could have such reckless disregard<\/strong> for my next rent payment.\u00a0 But with the confidence of youth, and a robust job market, I went out and found a better job.\u00a0 As a bonus, the jerk was fired a few months later for embezzlement.\u00a0 But it’s middle age when the glow of youth<\/strong> begins to fade and one realizes that things aren’t working exactly as they used to .\u00a0 Infallible memories begin to falter, your chin begins to look like Jabba the Hutt<\/strong>, and everything becomes a blur … literally.\u00a0 I maintain that poor eyesight is the greatest health hazard in America.\u00a0 I can’t tell you how many times I’ve misread the instructions on medicine bottles and directions on maps.\u00a0 I have 11 pair of “cheaters” strewn about the house but when I’m out in public I can never lay my hands on a pair from the depths of my purse.\u00a0 The grocery store is\u00a0the worst\u00a0since I do try to read the nutrition\u00a0labels.\u00a0 I invariably can’t find my glasses so I end thrusting my jar of Hersey’s Fudge sauce in a young person’s face to read the label for me.\u00a0 I buy it anyway.\u00a0\u00a0I swear sometimes I think that millennials are designing packaging with the\u00a0smallest font possible <\/strong>so they can amuse themselves watching us Senior Citizens move our arms back and forth trying to bring the type into focus.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/GIN_Raisins-2-299x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Now in the third phase of life<\/strong> a new “fun” experience is upon me and millions like me: arthritis.\u00a0 That creaking I hear is no longer the floor but the joints in my back and knees.\u00a0 After confirming the diagnosis in my spine, the doctor said, “Well, you know at your age<\/em>, everyone gets this”.\u00a0 Don’t you just love hearing that?\u00a0 In any event, after a few years of trying to find some relief a friend suggested that I try gin-soaked raisins<\/strong>.\u00a0 I thought she was kidding but what the heck, I’ll try anything that a) might help and, b) contains alcohol. So I did a little research and sure enough, there are whole websites devoted to the subject.\u00a0\u00a0 Dr. Oz even did a segment on its benefits.\u00a0 The theory is the combination marries\u00a0the anti-inflammatory properties<\/strong> of the gin’s juniper berries with the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of golden raisins.\u00a0 Yes, before you run to the pantry\u00a0for your regular old raisins, apparently only\u00a0the golden variety contains the right chemicals.\u00a0\u00a0On my next\u00a0trip to the grocery store I bought the ingredients and made up a batch.\u00a0 It takes about a week for the raisins to completely absorb the gin.\u00a0 Then, per instructions, I eat 8-10 a day<\/strong>.\u00a0 Of course, there is the matter of “eating” gin first thing in the morning.\u00a0 You may get some odd looks at the PTA meeting and, I’m not sure, but it seems my dentist was looking askance at me<\/strong> when I had my teeth cleaned last week.\u00a0 \u00a0But it’s been about two months since I\u00a0started this\u00a0regimen\u00a0and\u00a0my back and knees are pain-free.\u00a0 Who knows?\u00a0 Maybe my next discovery will be that zucchini and rum fix blurry vision!<\/p>\n