I didn't do exactly good with my eating yesterday. GRRRRR I had vowed to run today....but I ended up sleeping for 10 hours....and even when I woke up just going up and down the stairs is painful with my knees. Meanwhile, I have the money I need a new pair of running shoes!
Last week I got some bad news. One of my favorite customers where I work had had a stroke. He usually comes in and shoots the breeze with us on Saturday mornings. (He had been to see me the preceding Saturday.) He usually hangs out for a bit (unless the EMS squad is busy....he is the chief) He is a great guy. Over the last few months I have watched him and there have been more than one situation where I have flat out asked "Are you ok." Life was stressing him out and it was obvious to everyone that knew him. He remained upbeat and moved forward. The news after the stroke was grim. Very grim. He had slipped into a coma and the damage was irreversible and furthermore there was nothing they could do to halt the degeneration of the damage. We knew it was only a matter of time. This morning the EMS Chief for this small town passed away. He was 45 years old.
I knew it was going to happen. The reports were bad. But it still hit really hard. He was only 45 years old. That is too young to die! But as I thought about it, I knew that he had signs...he apparently had high blood pressure. He was overweight. He had stress. But still...he was only 45 years old! Yes, the signs were there, but at 45 do you take them seriously or are you still in the 'invincible' stage/age?
I am only 2 years and a few months behind him. I am not invincible. I have signs. I am overweight. I have high cholesterol. My knees are riddled with arthritis. My blood pressure has been known to spike (I'm still thinking it's the white coat syndrome......I just panic at the doctors office.....but who knows). I have been lucky thus far that my issues are 'quiet'. But when are they going to rear their ugly heads and cause me a problem. I'm not invincible. It's time to start living my life in a manner that takes care of my health. Which means that little 'oops' like my eating yesterday have got to stop!
I am so sorry about your customer. He was quite young. It's true, we tend to think things like that won't happen to us. I need to take much better care of myself too.
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry to hear about your customer, how sad and upsetting. And also very sobering given his age. To me these kind of events are actually not that motivating because all they do is remind me of life’s fragilities and that causes me anxiety and that just makes me want to comfort eat. Oh, and the shoes? Done that too :) xo
ReplyDeleteHow sad! So sorry to hear about your customer! We get so close to those we see while working. This is a little wake up call for me. I forget that I am getting older and so is my body, and the damage I am doing to it isn't good.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your loss. I know you will miss him. He was too young to die. We all can take a lesson from him.
ReplyDeleteLori
Sorry to hear about your customer. When we owned a convenience store we lost a good customer when he committed suicide. Even though I didn't know him all that well, his absence was really felt. Just remember - the best we can do is to try to honor their memory by living the best version of our lives!
ReplyDeleteHow terribly sad - sounds like your EMS Chief/customer was well-loved and will be missed. Yes, 45 is WAY too young to pass. I didn't start getting my health together until I turned 45, and now, at 52, I am so grateful that I did. Don't wait any longer, MaryFran - let this be the push you need to make the turnaround for yourself.
ReplyDeleteLife is surely fragile, but we always learn something from any loss. We all need to do better every day!
ReplyDelete45 is just too soon. That's all there is to it. It is definitely a wake up call. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.
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