Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Day 18: Here's To Health

It's funny. I never noticed how many cliches seem to govern my life or my thoughts until I started writing this blog. But when I think about how I have nicknames for everything and everyone it shouldn't surprise me. I think in soundbites, so cliches are just a natural outgrowth of that. One of my friends keeps telling me I should write my own "Judi" decoder book so I won't have to keep telling people "catch up."

Ah, but I digress (yet again). So what's the overused and tired phrase that I am thinking about today? It is, "when you've got your health, you've got everything." While it is true that after working for hours on the computer, my wrists are either on fire and/or numb, and sometimes when I get up in the morning I am a bit stiff, for the most part I am very healthy.

I am thinking about health for a lot of reasons, most of them are really good. For one thing, my Aunt Julia is turning 90 tomorrow and shows no signs of slowing down. And my Uncle Sam and Aunt Hazel are both turning 90 later this year and are also doing wonderfully.

And, of course, there's my Dad, aside from having to replace knees and hips, at 80, he's incredibly healthy and active. I know a lot of that is strong genes, but I also know a lot of it is because he has taken good care of himself and ironically, all that physical activity wore out his knees and hips.

I remember getting so mad at him when I was a kid because he wouldn't take us to eat fast food because he thought it was crap. Hmm, smart man. He would give in on my birthday because it was a big deal when I was a kid to go to Mc Donald's. Brilliant I know, but it wasn't something most people did that often in those days.

I also know that taking care of yourself is not always a guarantee. Which is the other reason I am thinking about health today. I had lunch with another friend today and we had a great time catching up. She's a history buff, and she was eating up the stories of what I have uncovered through my research and what is going into our book, like it was candy.

But, sadly, her husband has cancer, and there's not much else they can do for him, and while we didn't talk about it today in specific terms, we did talk about how life is going to change and has changed because of it.

It just makes me think about how we never know what's in store for us, or how long we really have and how we need to live while we are here and healthy. And, I mean really live, not just be a passive spectator in my own life.

As I took my walk this afternoon, I reminded myself that I am only here for a short time and to not let anything stop me from doing what I want to do, and to enjoy the time I am here and to have fun!




 
"Unbeing dead isn't being alive." ~e.e. cummings

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance." ~Author Unknown

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