It has occurred to me that I am acquiring what appears to be habits I am comfortable with, but hadn’t realised they were probably related to getting old.

You know you are getting on a bit when you are on a first-name basis with nurses at the hospital, which was what awakened me to other changes in my behavioural patterns.

I guess it was just a few years ago, when I started looking forward to the gardening show on the ABC at 6.30 on a Saturday evening, that I realised maybe I was changing.

Or should I have realised all was not right when, just a couple of weeks ago, I came home from work on the night of Origin One and started vacuuming the house.

Just a few short years ago I would have been either at the game or holed up in pub somewhere, convinced I was helping the cause of the Maroons by drinking my weight in beer. Not vacuum in hand and looking forward to a cup of tea before the game!

Of course my lack of enthusiasm for social activity should have been a dead giveaway.

For instance, when invited somewhere I react in one of two ways – either accept and then on the night wonder what I was thinking, or immediately ask what time does the host think the night will be finished.

Investigating further, I also found that it has become routine to head to the bedroom just before 8.30pm to brush my teeth, turn the sheets down, open my latest book and clean my spectacles in readiness for bed shortly thereafter.

On realisation of this, I started to think I was gone.

Then there is the shower problem.

When halfway through my shower these days, I can’t remember whether I have shampooed what’s left of my hair.

The only way I have of telling is by looking at the top of the bottle to see if it has just been used.

I must admit it’s not always easy to be sure, which could explain why my water rates are up and how sometimes time just disappears.

Or there’s the problem of when I run into someone I haven’t seen for a while and the first things we start talking about are ailments and operations, like some type of peeing competition... but that’s a whole other story.

But the most telling factor was a few weeks ago I went for a swim.

I was travelling to the pool on my motorbike so I wore long shorts and put them in my backpack, where there were other bits and pieces from recent trips.

As usual, after the swim I was pretty keen to get going and threw my clothes on and prepared to head off.

I spoke to a few people on the way out of the pool and also stopped off to buy a tallie at the bottle shop.

At the time I remember something rubbing against my leg while I was riding, but thought it was the strap from the bag.

But as I got back on my bike, beer safely in the bag, I looked down and to my horror saw a pair of Y-fronts hanging out the bottom of my shorts.

It turned out they were an extra pair that were in my bag and somehow got tangled up with my shorts.

Next thing I will be walking around with them on the outside of my strides – then I will know I have a real problem.

But as they say when you get married, you plan to grow old together – so I will finish with something my better half did.

The other day I came home from work and she met me at the door, proudly saying that her outfit she had on was very trendy and cost nearly nothing because she bought it at the Salvos – “shirt $3.50, jeans $2 and shoes $4 – all black and all goes together, how good is that?” she exclaimed proudly.

I looked her up and down and said, “Looks great, so where have you been today – work, the shopping centre and the bank?”

She confirmed that, but was puzzled why I asked until I told her she had a large white label with Salvation Army $3.50 pinned to the side of her blouse.

Yes we are definitely on the way.