{"id":60883,"date":"2025-04-06T06:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T10:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/?p=60883"},"modified":"2026-06-24T10:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:29:02","slug":"this-mortal-shell-that-seems-so-precious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/cette-mortelle-charpente-qui-nous-semble-si-precieuse\/","title":{"rendered":"This mortal shell that seems so precious"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The body in which I inhabit is starting to frighten me. Has it reached the maximum number of times it can regenerate its cells? Are they functioning at a slower pace now that they\u2019re almost 78? Like my memory, and my legs, which, once quick and athletic, vaulted me high over poles. They even propelled me to the top of the podium at an intercollegiate pole vault competition in Montreal. I can still see them \u2013 long, thin and agile, jumping into the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I see pretty faces aging behind my television screen, I freeze. My gaze fixed on the plasma, I touch my deflated cheeks, my wrinkling lips and my eyes, receding into my skull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, one of the most elegant words reserved for elderly people is \u201cmature.\u201d Think about it for a moment. A state of peak existence, not decrepitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a habit of eating apples constantly. I buy so many that sometimes they start to shrivel before I\u2019ve had the chance to bite into one. Almost imperceptibly, the flesh of the forbidden fruit dries, sags and atrophies, its skin becoming flaccid. Even if its flesh remains enjoyable for human consumption, the envelope has deteriorated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My face is a good approximation of a wizened apple adorned with beautiful, coloured glasses perched on the nose! Thanks to the town\u2019s optician, I can still see the words I write and watch them fly away in the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to what I\u2019ve read on the subject, as the three cutaneous layers lose volume and efficacy a number of effects can be observed: reduced elasticity and essential lipids, lower cutaneous nerve endings and loss of sensitivity. Heaven help me! But the worst part is, which no one expects, the reduction in the number of sweat glands and the atrophy of blood vessels that diminishes the skin\u2019s ability to protect itself from the heat. So, in addition to being less tolerant of the sun\u2019s rays, we wilt more quickly in the heat, even though we no longer sweat like we did in our prime! I\u2019ll never lounge in the sun again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I vividly remember the years as a cook when the heat was unrelenting, thanks to the hot flashes of menopause. In my first small kitchen, I\u2019d break the eggs, flip the cr\u00eapes and put up with it. I\u2019d do my best to stifle my sensations and, when an intense hot flash would soak my neck, I\u2019d call my daughter for backup so she could take my place at the griddle for 30 minutes or so. I\u2019d say the code \u201cthe tortellini is boiling,\u201d and she knew straight away what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear reader, I\u2019m sharing this secret code in case it might come in handy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank heavens, I can\u2019t see my sagging bottom. My flabby behind is the culprit causing my legs to move slower these days. During the pandemic, I walked a fair share, but since I\u2019ve settled into my morning coffee routine with my friends, my bottom is always parked on a chair. While I type away at the keyboard and pile up drafts, my lower body is losing its agility. My poor old legs even wake me up at night. I must get out of bed and walk for a good 15 minutes around the house until the pain subsides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know this about me already: I\u2019m crazy about colours. I loved decorating my breakfast dishes with colourful fruit. I enjoy dressing up in bright colours. Why do you think I dress this body that\u2019s about to lose the battle against age in an array of hues? When you turn on your screen to read my letters, don\u2019t you notice the energizing colours and the beautiful brooches I wear like badges of strength and courage? Before we pack our bags to leave, let\u2019s thank our old wobbly shells for taking us this far and congratulate ourselves for living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many, the slow decay of aging is worse for worrying about it; as if a pink-horned devil blamed all the world\u2019s pain on age. Moustaches spring from discarded carrots, and sprouts strut their stuff on the noggin of overripe potatoes. In my book, age doesn\u2019t have an age, but aging, although it displeases me, is inevitable. Que sera, sera!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This morning, I wanted to poke fun at this mortal shell that seems so precious. We have to treat it with care to help it last as long as possible, but for the rest, it\u2019s just an ornate Buddha decorating our lives and our little palaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our true nature is invisible to the naked eye. Like a miraculous sap that feeds us, shapes us and sets us apart. This true nature shines like a light inside us; it\u2019s our duty to keep this flame alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m aging, dwindling, weakening; I\u2019m dying terribly slowly, in small steps. Toes and fingers climbing on top of one another trying to escape their fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My memory is a sieve that has allowed the provocateurs that once tripped my temper to escape. My old heart, almost as empty as a church, still hopes to fulfill a few desires yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old, tired and clumsy servants, my hands still prefer to WRITE. They insist on telling my story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than all the gold, myrrh and incense, these precious hands have no desire to return to dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cora
\u2665\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The body in which I inhabit is starting to frighten me. Has it reached the maximum number of times it can regenerate its cells? Are they functioning at a slower pace now that they\u2019re almost 78? Like my memory, and my legs, which, once quick and athletic, vaulted me high over poles. They even propelled me to the top of the podium at an intercollegiate pole vault competition in Montreal. I can still see them \u2013 long, thin and agile, jumping into the air. When I see pretty faces aging behind my television screen, I freeze. My gaze fixed on the plasma, I touch my deflated cheeks, my wrinkling lips and my eyes, receding into my skull. In my opinion, one of the most elegant words reserved for elderly people is \u201cmature.\u201d Think about it for a moment. A state of peak existence, not decrepitude. I have a habit of eating apples constantly. I buy so many that sometimes they start to shrivel before I\u2019ve had the chance to bite into one. Almost imperceptibly, the flesh of the forbidden fruit dries, sags and atrophies, its skin becoming flaccid. Even if its flesh remains enjoyable for human consumption, the envelope has deteriorated. My face is a good approximation of a wizened apple adorned with beautiful, coloured glasses perched on the nose! Thanks to the town\u2019s optician, I can still see the words I write and watch them fly away in the wind. According to what I\u2019ve read on the subject, as the three cutaneous layers lose volume and efficacy a number of effects can be observed: reduced elasticity and essential lipids, lower cutaneous nerve endings and loss of sensitivity. Heaven help me! But the worst part is, which no one expects, the reduction in the number of sweat glands and the\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":60885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Le corps qu'elle habite commence \u00e0 l'effrayer : Mme Cora r\u00e9fl\u00e9chit au vieillissement et \u00e0 cette charpente mortelle qui nous est si pr\u00e9cieuse.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"class_list":["post-60883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/414"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60883"}],"curies":[{"name":"WP","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}