Don’t Quit Living – You Ain’t Dead Yet

Dedicated to my doctor, who gave me twenty more years

Where do I start?  Just the facts, Ma’am

Facts:  Last year I was sixty-seven years old. Although some of my older friends call me a spring chicken I was thinking of how close sixty-seven is to seventy and seventy to — well, none of us know how long we’ll live but as we age we recognize that time is growing shorter. I had to make a decision on my house and was filled with anxiety. I had one of those variable interest rate mortgages, low interest to start with, but jumping higher each month. Should I sell the house and move to an apartment? Should I refinance in order to get a fixed rate that wouldn’t keep going up? At my age? I finally stopped and asked myself “If I knew I would live at least five more years would I refinance and keep my house?” Since I really did not want to move to an apartment, the resounding answer was yes!

Shortly after I had refinanced the house and the question was settled I had an appointment with my doctor for a checkup. I have moderate diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I was on medication only for the blood pressure as I’d told my doctor I wanted to keep my numbers down without medication for as along as possible. Well, he told me that with my risk factors I had a fifty percent chance of having a stroke or heart attack within the next ten years, but that if I went on the cholesterol medication the risk would be reduced to twenty-five percent. I agreed to the medication.

Three days later I quit smoking, since I also knew smoking was one of my risk factors. I know this time I will not go back to the habit, as I have done before. Because, on my last visit to the doctor for a checkup in July, he gave me twenty more years!

My glucose numbers were still not excessive so my doctor said “If you keep the numbers this low it could be twenty years before you need medication for your diabetes.”

Twenty years! I had gone from a probable five more years to a possible twenty! I was very excited. Since I’d always had a positive outlook on life, I never realized I’d been giving myself old age messages. It had started with the five year decision, which shows how I have to be on my guard about what I think about. I could think myself right into a squeaky old rocker on the front porch, just sitting there watching the world go by and missing out on the rest of my life!

I perked right up. If I could really live twenty more years or thereabouts I would still have time to get things done that I’ve always wanted to do. It wasn’t too late after all. I may be getting older and slowing down, but I haven’t come to a standstill. I’ll take better care of myself.

I’ve increased my walks with Winston from fifteen or twenty minutes to thirty or forty-five minutes a day. I monitor my glucose more closely and count carbs more stringently. In so doing, I’ve also taken off five pounds that had been gathering around my middle.

And I started my blog. My daughter had told me some time ago that if wanted a blog she would help me set it up, and now the idea appealed to me. After all, I have plenty of things to say yet, and perhaps plenty of time to say them. If it turns out I don’t, I’d still rather be blogging when I go than sitting on the front porch in a squeaky old rocker watching the cars go by.

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