TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2021 BEING MORTAL

 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021 ANOTHER LOOK AT “BEING MORTAL”

I do want to continue my thoughts from last week (“Being Mortal”) and actually some of the health thoughts from the week before.

You and I will work for decades.  My first teaching position in West Grant Wisconsin was at the age of 22 - and that only a week after I turned 22.  (Boy, was I young - and I thought I was invincible!!  Quick story - we had a snow day and I decided I could go out and drive around.  It was scary - and a highway patrolman stopped me and told me to go home!!)

I taught until age 68 - that is 46 years (well, kind of with some time to get a master's and doctorate).  But, if I live until (say) 90, that is an additional 22 years.  

I’d prefer those 22 years to be good years - fun years - years with alarm clocks going off - years without grading students - years with my family, years of travel, years with friends, years to enjoy as a retired person.  

Retirement - what can it be?  In my case, I guess I just wasn’t prepared for retirement - and my spouse wasn’t prepared for me being home all day long - every day.  In the past, I wrote about “Retired Husband Syndrome” - and while it is explicitly a Japanese phenomenon - I think it is probably in the developed world - and also affects males as well as females.  The traditional view is that ‘displaced husbands’ are in the way and can cause the wife to get jittery and stressed.  My wife would extend the formal analysis to also say the displaced husbands are like lost lambs - and without any place to go and wander around without purpose.

We want our retired years to be wonderful - and, we are not anticipating death.  It is like we say “I’m going to live it up until I’m ninety years old - then I can start to die”.  That might be nice, but life generally doesn’t work that way!!!  

For many (and potentially for me as well), they may be years with aches, pains, surgeries, heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, knee replacements, hip replacements, falls, and more.  

I was going to write “I don’t want to scare you”, and then decided - “No, I do want to scare you!!!”  

For my non-retired friends - the writing is on the wall - take care of yourself if you want a long and happy retirement.  And, if you want a retirement full of pain, full of strokes, heart attacks, cancer, and more - then live it up now. 

Two weeks ago, I quoted the statistic that 2/3rds of Americans are overweight or obese.  Being overweight or obese is going to hamper your retirement plans.  

I’ve known people who smoked for years and into their retirement had emphysema and other health issues.  One friend lost her leg to diabetes. Others have lost various organs to cancer.  Others have dementia.  As this book says “One Damn Thing After Another” - (ODTAA)

There is something called the “Seven Deadly Sins:  According to the standard list, they are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth.  And, with some thought, any one of them can lead to death.  An excess of pride can “puff you up”.  Sure money is good, but greed can change your focus from a reasonable view of money and wealth to being “married to the almighty dollar”. We could look at the others, but I want to look at “Gluttony”

Gluttony is defined as excess in eating or drinking and greed or excessive indulgence.  Gluttony doesn’t get much press these days.  (Actually, the seven deadly sins don’t get much press!!!) 

A while back I was in a meeting with about ten people.  Two were extremely overweight (aka - “obese”, and four were substantially overweight (aka “fat”).  I was the only retired one in the group - and I had been listening to the “Being Mortal” book and in the past have been concerned about my weight.  I don’t want to judge these people, but my predictions are that as they age and enter into retirement, that excess of weight will be a problem.  It might be a lead-in to heart-attacks, diabetes, and even joint and muscle issues (carrying that extra weight around can be a problem for the knees, legs, and feet.  

I was thinking of a scripture.  I Corinthians 6:19-20 “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. ... God created our physical bodies, therefore making it good and precious from the start.”

If their bodies (and mine) are “temples” of the Holy Spirit, it isn’t a good thing to be overweight, or with harmful actions.  To me, smoking could be a negative to being a temple of the Holy Spirit, or gluttony leading to obesity could be a negative to being a temple of the Spirit.  Now, I understand that there can be extenuating circumstances that can cause obesity.  I fight my weight daily (and today as I have written this, I’m losing in the fight - I bought some cookies, chips, and sweets today - and I know better).

If I want an estimated twenty-two years of fantastic retirement years, I need to be ready for it.

And, I’m on the way, but I’m not there.

Confession time: Since I was a kid, I hated abdominal exercises - like sit-ups.  I walk - good aerobic activity - but I don’t go lunges, squats, sit-ups, and weights.  I have tried to incorporate such activities into my workouts - but I LIKE to walk.  I get an audiobook or music on my iPhone and I can listen while I walk - not so as I do the other activities.  I have a friend (ME) of a similar age, who is so flexible (okay, I’m envious of her - but she has worked at this for years).  She also cares for a husband with Parkinson’s disease.  (And, she sends me limericks and poems!!!) 

Yes, I’m 73 - but if (a) my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and (b) I want to live a valued and purposeful life into my 90s - I need to keep on top of my physical body.  

So, kind of short and sweet today - take care of yourself - eat nutritionally, enjoy life, watch your alcohol intake, don’t smoke, get exercise, don’t be a glutton, have a good social life, and have a positive attitude!!!

Because LOVE WINS - but self-love means to take care of yourself.  

Hugs!!!

Karen