SICK

What a crappy morning. Stomach pain woke me out of sleep twice, which usually means one thing: I ingested some bad food and now it must quickly leave me. I try to think what I ate yesterday, as I make my way to the bathroom...coffee, coffee, coffee, a piece of blueberry bread, and...um...hmm. For the life of me, I cannot recall anything else, and I think that may be everything. Well, that's not good. I don't see how a piece of blueberry bread could be the cause of such intensity, bah. So, tired and dizzy and disoriented, I go back to bed, and stay there until noon, glad that I had the option to rest. I am easing back into my day, not sick for long.

Being sick sucks. This is my succinct way of underlining the old adage that if you don't have your health, you ain't got nothin'. I used to hear this when I was younger and dismiss it as an old person's lament. Good health seemed endless and reasonable, and who wants to get old anyway? Well, I think I do, at least to see what fresh hell pokes its fiery little head around the corner next, anyway. I like the option.

I see myself as very fortunate as to have not suffered any kind of major illness as of yet. I have had plenty of downtime because of these pesky food problems, but they pass and I am not damaged for it. But there is a change in the air. I am old enough now where my friends and family, those my age and older, are starting to get ill, and sometimes stay ill. Some of these illnesses are cruelly random; some would have been preventable. I don't know which is worse sometimes. My dad, with fabulously good genes and longevity on both sides of his family, chopped a good twenty years off his life with his choices. You wonder, if he had a chance to look back now, would he be sorry or would he still have done the same?

This is your one shot, the one time. You don't have endless days and cannot always expect to be healthy enough to enjoy the days you do have. You have heard this all before, but you will hear it again once from me:

1. If you smoke, stop. I know it is so hard. But you must stop. Don't buy them, don't say just one more, or someday. Stop. This is one worth fighting with all your might. Find out what it is behind your need to smoke first, beyond the physical. There are things you need to face.You know how bad it is.

2. Food and drink = moderation. You need far less than you think you do. Alcohol has limited benefits, and some big downsides. You'd be better off with water. YES, I know, water doesn't take the edge off. Again, there's probably a healthier way to relax. And try to eat fresh, good food, and take the time to prepare balanced meals. YES, I know, this coming from Miss Coffee and Blueberry Bread. I swear, an anomaly.

3. Get moving. We are for the most part a nation of slugs. You really do have to move around a bit to stay healthy. Just try to find something you like, find someone to move around with you, take the stairs every so often. Anything you do is better than nothing.

Believe me, I have failed on all of these things many times, sometimes for a really, really long time. I know how days go by. But I will still ask you to try, and maybe, you never know, maybe something good will come of it.

I think I will go and make something to eat now, perhaps a giant rum birthday cake with cigarettes for candles. Ha ha, that would be funny.