Papering Over the Cracks

Have you ever noticed that when attaining a certain age, the cracks begin to show, not only that but they’re becoming difficult to paper over and in more ways than one!

The other morning, having woken up craving a full English, I took a trip to the local supermarket and the newly opened refurbished cafe.

I ordered my breakfast, swapped the egg for extra mushrooms, collected my regular latte and sat down at one of the new tables. The cafe wasn’t busy, but the service was appallingly slow and if it wasn’t for striking up a conversation with the nice lady on the next table, I think I may have become a little impatient.

 After a while I began looking around the room and I couldn’t help overhearing some of the older people complaining about the long wait. Some of them looked downright miserable and I wondered if they ever smiled. This of course set off another train of thought, this time about lines and wrinkles.

There was a time when I was younger when I believed the lines added character to my face, that belief soon passed when I realised that unless I adopt a smile my face looks quite sad, not to mention old! So maybe that was the same with these other folk, they’re not really miserable, they only look that way because of the age lines, the cracks in their faces.

Later, back at my car with my trolley full of shopping I couldn’t help noticing an old lady attempting to park her car. (My age is now irrelevant, I have regressed to what once were my teenaged thoughts, anyone older than me is old!) 

I paused to watch the proceedings, at first with some amusement, but this was soon replaced with pity. The help offered from passers-by was consistently refused, until eventually she accepted the offer of assistance from a man who’d parked nearby.

Perhaps it’s time supermarkets extended the range of larger bays to include the elderly customers who find it difficult to park a car. Failing that perhaps a dedicated parking attendant.

On my drive home I pondered on the lady’s predicament and began to realise that age related driving problems is yet another crack that is proving difficult to paper over!

©nansfarm.net September 2017 – In response to the daily word-prompt ‘Irrelevant’