Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

Fitness

Love Me, Love My Dog

jack lalane

Three Beautiful Things:

  • Yoga to stretch out the kinks.
  • Intense Vitamin D
  • The first “chink” of the baseball bat

Oh yes friends, I heard it! According to the sounds in the ‘hood high-school baseball practice has started. The first hit is the sweetest. Next, we wait for The National Anthem.

Yesterday, at the undercover assignment, I ran into a familiar face: a health care professional who moonlights as a bartender at the ball park. We look forward to doing some business in a few short weeks.

Another familiar face was D, he’s an active attractive senior 70+. Champion bridge player, gets up at 5 AM to exercise, goes home and hot tubs with his HOT wife (they met on the internet), outdoors man, retired air traffic controller with a military background. And he sleeps with a poodle! He (me) thinks they are the smartest dogs EVER!

D had a lot of fun with his internet dating experience, and he said that he met a lot of beautiful women and some….not so much. He was pretty open with his parameters and would travel to meet his dates and arrive with a rose and his poodle.

Evidently age was a factor with some of the women. But one lady and he really hit off, she was a successful business woman from out of state and the relationship was progressing nicely. She approached him about spending a couple of weeks together at her place…He was game. Until she dropped the bomb.

The dog is not welcome.

Deal breaker for D.

See ya!

Dead Man Walking

vintage valentine

Ran into a colleague today that was just returning from a medical leave. Emergency surgery to repair a compressed disk or nerve or something that could paralyze him with just the right action. Turns out he got a replacement part from a cadaver and he’s good to go.

Thank you for that contribution.

Don’t forget to sign your donor card.

The Greatest Gift

vintage valentine Friday’s yoga session made me think about my lungs. How lucky and grateful I am for my functional set. So why do I knowingly abuse them? Sickening.

If something were to happen to me, would they be of any value? I’ve instructed Mr. Greenjeans that in the event of my demise, to make sure that the body is stripped of anything worthwhile and donated.

We’ve talked about organ donation before and the contacts with families who when faced with tragedy, made the unselfish decision to save the lives of others with the beautiful gift of a set of lungs, or tissue, heart or kidneys. One widow told me that her husband’s donation helped 59 people. FIFTY-NINE!

  • Donors ages have ranged from newborn to 65 plus.
  • Recent studies have shown that over 95,000 patients in the USA are waiting for an organ transplant.
  • Nearly 4,000 new patients are added to the waiting list each month.

Organdonor.gov

Today’s Tip for better living: Open your heart.

Power Rangers

jack lalane
We decided to push it on the elliptical machine this week, and nearly stroked out. A couple of people wanted to know if I’d been crying. It was that bad. Not my best look.

Whenever I encounter a dedicated fit person, if they’ll allow it, I shake their hand and try to download some of their power. However, I think the timing is off, I need to catch them before the workout and not after….when they are all limp and sweaty. Somehow, the energy is not transferring.

Overheard: one lady trying to get credit for the spin class she’d signed up for. Turns out, she felt like she’d been assaulted by a bike seat.

A yoga nugget from June-I’m-Gonna-Eat That:

I was nearing the end of the workout, and we went into Corpse Pose, which many say is the hardest pose to master. You lie on your back, hands at your side, and completely relax. You don’t move. It’s harder than it sounds.

“You look actually dead,” Marvin said between spaghetti consumption. “Now I’m picturing you actually dead and I’m getting upset.”

Who knew that corpse pose was difficult to master? Now it makes sense. I once had a yoga teacher who would scold me for twitching while trying to relax in corpse pose. That helps.

Fitness attire in the office: It’s what not to wear. In another life I worked in an office with a co-worker who was training for a marathon. He’d do an early morning run and then stroll the halls in his costume, stopping to stretch occasionally as the eight o’clock crowd started rolling in. There were several mornings that I spewed hot coffee upon a sighting.
running suit

What To Do With Dad

vintage postcard

Over the holidays we caught up with friends and acquaintances who are dealing with aging parents. What to do? Some of the stories we’ve heard:

It’s scary riding in the car with them.

They are malnourished because they only eat pie.

The Dad who made a new “friend” who charges him $1500 to replace the battery in the car. This particular gentleman never had a credit card, and suddenly he’s racked up a $10,000 bill, not once but a couple of times with the help of his “friend”. His son is now managing his finances.

In his father’s defense, Dad was a workaholic, working was his hobby and he always had at least two jobs. After a forced retirement, widowed and recently fired from his part-time job for falling asleep on the phone with customers, he’s displaced and doesn’t know what to do with himself. Can’t access his cash without his son’s permission and no wheels.

He’s kind of pissed.

What to do with Dad?

He’s lost his license and continues to drive. Never mind that it’s like Mr. Magoo, driving around oblivious to the pileups in their wake. Can’t see OR turn their head, cuz their neck is locked up.

Recently widowed for the third time, Barbara decided she was going to meet a man. She doesn’t waste time, and traditionally marries within six months of losing her husbands. Sister works it and has been hitting the square dances and makes it clear that she doesn’t want to be alone. One of her sons who lives nearby, noticed hand lettered signs posted along the roadway advertising that his mother was seeking companionship. He ripped them down.

It’s comical and sad, and a real challenge mentally and financially for the Boomers that are still working full-time, raising kids or grandkids and caring for their parents. A good nursing home around here is $5000 a month.

What’s the answer?

UPDATE: Barbara was found in her home earlier this week unconscious and is in ICU. She’s been a bit of a medical mystery as she has no health history, and has not been to the doctor in 47 years……since the birth of her last child. She is in a coma.