"I was at the hardware store last week, watching this guy about my age stare at the power tools. He picked up a cordless drill, turned it over in his hands, then put it back. Did the same with a circular saw. His wife came over and asked if he needed anything. "Nah," he said. "Just looking." I knew exactly what was happening. He wasn't shopping. He was visiting old friends he doesn't use anymore. That's the thing about getting older that nobody talks about. It's not the big changes that get you. It's the small stuff you quietly stop doing."
"Used to be, I'd call my buddy Mike every couple weeks. No reason. Just to shoot the breeze about work, the Sox, whatever. Somewhere along the line, that stopped. Not all at once. First it was once a month. Then every couple months. Then just birthdays and holidays. Now I can't remember the last time we talked. It's not that we had a falling out. We just... stopped. And once you've let enough time pass, it feels weird to pick up the phone. What would you even say?"
Aging often leads to a gradual withdrawal from everyday activities and casual social connections. People stop making spontaneous phone calls, starting new projects, and indulging small pleasures like drives or tinkering in the garage. These changes rarely happen all at once but accumulate over months and years. The loss is not always due to incapacity but to fading impulse or unfamiliarity with restarting routines. Once habits slip, reconnecting feels awkward, and small omissions add up to a noticeable shift in identity and daily life.
Read at Silicon Canals
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