Choosing Not To Follow In Mom's Footsteps (for Good Reason)

Is it really Monday already?

The weekend seemed to fly by, despite my feeling sluggish most of the weekend due to the horrendous heat wave. With multiple days in a row in the 100's, walks outside were non-existent and even indoor workouts weren't that plentiful - I only got in two 20 minute workouts on the elliptical machine. Add the nasty heat, to my lovely corneal ulcer that I am dealing with, and suffering pain from Aunt Flo - and it's fair to say I wasn't quite feeling myself. And when I am not feeling myself, things just plain old suck.

Friday night Josh and I thought we'd escape the heat by having dinner with friends at a Thai restaurant we've been wanting to try in Bethehem - only to get there and realize that the air-conditioning at the restaurant was barely working. We sweat bullets through dinner (and it wasn't because of the spicy-factor of the food) and came home to a hotter than hell bedroom, which required an hour wait until the window unit air-conditioner had a chance to work it's magic and get the room to a balmy 82 degrees. Ugh.

Right now I am writing from my mom's hospital room. She is currently in surgery for a double knee replacement, and I am hanging out, watching a riveting episode of Family Feud and trying to keep busy until we hear from the doctor. My mom's knees have been deteriorating for years now, and have come to the point of really affecting her walking capability and being the source of excruciating pain. While my mom is not severely overweight, she was a bit heavier years ago and spent a lot of her time on ladders remodeling her home (scraping paint and refinishing woodwork) or on the floor (washing up hardwood or kitchen linoleum). While she was "active" in the sense that she was always busy doing something, my mom never really did any aerobic activity to speak of. She wasn't exactly sedentary, but she didn't walk for the purpose of exercise so she didn't have much muscle tone in her legs (especially her thighs).

Her poor knees suffered for it for years and now she needs new ones. And she's getting them today.

It's going to be very difficult to see my mom in so much pain. She chose to get both knees done at the same time because she has heard horror stories of how painful the recovery is and thought she may never go back and get the second one done - and she desperately needs them both. It is a lesson to me to get this weight off before I, too, have to face such a decision.

At age 39 (and fast approaching 40) I am very much aware that I am no longer a "spring chicken." But that doesn't mean I am willing to accept that my body cannot be strong and healthy. I know that it can - but it needs work. Lots and lots of work. When I think about the alternatives to not exercising and getting stronger and healthier, I see a future with more issues than I care to deal with, and that isn't how I want to live the rest of my life. And I won't.

So, because I am not sure how long I will be here today, starting tomorrow, I am back in the exercise saddle. Morning walks and afternoon work outs with either the elliptical, treadmill or recumbent bike. Weights for my upper body work out. 

In other words, making an investment in my future.