When Getting Dressed Takes Twice as Long
It is not a sign of decline. It is a signal worth listening to. And there is a lot you can do about it.
A reader named Carol, 74, sent me a note a few months ago. She said she used to get dressed in ten minutes flat. Shower, clothes, shoes, out the door. Now it takes closer to forty-five. The buttons on her favorite blouse have become a small battle every morning. Pulling on socks requires sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her time. She mentioned it almost as an aside, like it was too small a thing to bring up.
Then she added: “I don’t know if it’s just me, or if I should be worried, or if I should just get rid of all my nice clothes and buy tracksuits.”
It is not just Carol. And it is not just you, if you have noticed the same thing.
The moment you do notice it, a question settles in. The kind that does not go away on its own.
Okay. So what can I actually do about this?
That is the right question. And the answer is more practical than most people expect, because the difficulty is not random. It has specific, well-understood causes. And once you understand what is actually happening …