The Aches and Pains of Getting Old

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk at work and I got a shooting pain in my leg. Turns out it was a shin splint but I don't know why or how I got it. I usually know (too much walking on pavement at Disney), or whatever. But, the only thing I can figure is something I did at Pilates Thursday night. Argh! Very frustrating, I ended up not doing my Zumba class, iced it quite a few times throughout the day and night and today it is mostly better.

This morning, my husband woke up with an excruciating painful back problem. He has been seeing both his chiropractor and massage therapist regarding this problem, but for some reason it took a turn for the worse. So, here I am at work on a Saturday working with my nephew who is also our IT person as he does computer upgrades, maintenance, and stuff I don't full understand. So, by the end of the day I will have a really clean desk (or at least part of it) because I don't have any work work I really need to do today. Now, if only I could train my dogs to do the loads of laundry that are waiting for me at home.

What is so frustrating, is that we will be leaving on a vacation soon to go out to Bryce and Zion parks to do some hiking, and then to Las Vegas (where we will also walk a lot) and to see some shows. And we will need to keep up with our 21 year old son who doesn't have all the aches and pains of getting old. I am glad we waited til we were a bit older to have a child, but as we get older it is harder to keep up with him.

My mom is almost 90 and still living alone at her home. I see things that lead me to believe that she too is getting old (I guess at her age she has the right to be getting old). She has trouble with her manual dexterity due to arthritis in her fingers (if this is hereditary I too will probably get like that as my grandmother also had arthritis problems). She is still active, and she is still driving, and she is planning a big birthday bash for this summer.

So, I see more and more the importance of keeping up with my Yoga, strength training, and so forth. And my diet has become much healthier in the past few years. I hope it all pays off and although I have aches and pains, I want to be living in our own place when we are 90.

Obama in Asheville

President Obama is in Asheville. So how does this affect me? Well for Admin Professional Week I took the two women from my office in to downtown Asheville to paint pottery and for lunch. Well, we literally could NOT get out of town after lunch. All the expressways were blocked because of Obama. We figured out, OK, we would take the river road home. Nope. Obama and his wife decided to eat at 12 Bones (Ribs) where they had gotten food from during the campaign stop here 2 years ago. That was my root down to the river. So, decided to go through Biltmore village, nope, bridge construction. Finally headed south, hit the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and made the 12 minute drive from Asheville to Weaverville in about 50 minutes! Thank goodness I didn't run out of gas, as I started out with a quarter tank.

People are taking the long routes home to get home from work, and parents are having trouble picking up their kids from school. What a mess!

Anyways, the pottery painting was fun! The lunch (brick oven fired pizzas) was delicious. Can't wait to go back and pick up the pottery after it has been fired. Should be ready in about a week.

Computer Updates

I hate computer updates. I have two computers I use at home. An older one that I mostly use for keeping track of my finances, and doing my email because I have been too lazy to move it over, and a newer laptop. And, they both demanded updates tonight that needed to reboot my computer. They are running on different windows operating systems. I understand we want things better, faster, brighter, and so forth, but it just burns me up. I am all ready to do something or other on my computer... and it says update me, update me, you didn't really want to do anything else!!

Oh well, now I am tired, but they are both updated. Maybe tomorrow they won't need anything from me and we will get along better. Oh, and of course, laptops always decide on needing updates when you are in the airport, with only a limited amount of time and or battery life. But, I have learned to check for as many updates as possible before a trip (if I have time in between packing, paying bills, watering plants, and leaving instructions for the dog sitter).

Tailgate Market / Weaverville

The Weaverville Tailgate market opens today. Hooray!! I have pre-ordered my fish, because otherwise at 5;30 they are almost all sold out. Hoping for some baked goods, and some spring lettuce for a salad. Starting in May I will be getting a half share from a local farm. Can't wait to see what all he brings this year, and his produce was by and far the best that I had from the vendors last year. If you'd like to see more information about the local market in Weaverville check out their web site: http://weavervilletailgate.org/ . What is nice, is that it gives me something to look forward to in mid-week. And I need some more "Rainbow Jam" as we just ran out of our last jar (I bought extra at the last fall tailgate to last me through the winter). The matzoh at passover finished it off.

No More Broken Bones

About 2 1/2 years ago, I twisted my foot at work, and then high excruciating pain only to find out the next day that I had broken my foot. After having it in a walking cast and so forth I asked the bone doctor, well, based on my age (young 50's) and a history in my family (mom and grandmother) of osteoporosis, could you test me for it? His answer, no.He was only a doctor to fix a problem, not prevent future ones. So, went to my regular doctor, got bone density screening found out I did indeed have osteoporosis and went on a regimen to turn it back for the past 2 years. Since you can only have the test every two years I had to wait to see if all of this would do any good.

GOOD NEWS. I got my second bone density screening a few weeks ago and the osteoporosis is gone! Between weight bearing exercise, medicine, increased calcium, and change of diet (less sodas) I was able to regain my bone density. Yeah!! I still need to keep it up -- so I don't go back to where I was. Doesn't mean I won't break another bone, but if I do, it shouldn't be so easy to do. I am proud of myself for sticking to the regimen and making new habits for myself. And good news is always worth sharing.

Toothache

This past few weeks I have been feeling kind of drug out and wore out. Went to the dentist for a cleaning, and mentioned that I'd been having a bit of a toothache. Well, he sent me to a specialist (since it was in an area where I had a root canal done) and she did all of her tests. Problem was, that she couldn't pin point it to one tooth, each test came up with a different tooth. So, she concluded it was a sinus infection! Turns out that the roots go into the sinus cavity. So, now I am on an antibiotic and feeling quite a bit better all around. Did a Zumba class last night, and still had a little energy left over. I am so glad that I mentioned this to my dentist. It makes sense, we have everything blooming here and budding out. Daffodils, forsythia and more. Yeah!! We finally have spring which also makes me very happy.

In Memory and Sharing Memories

Today is a very reflective day for me. This is the anniversary of my father's passing. This is the month that my mother-in-law passed away many years ago, and this week on Monday my father-in-law passed away. (He was 91 1/2 years old). All of the emotions have me on a roller coaster ride of thoughts. My husband has to travel up to Maine for the memorial service, and I can't go along because our son is home for the winter break (and winter it is, we had 8" of snow yesterday). I also couldn't go to his mother's service as child care was an issue back then. And, then in the summer he will go back for the burial. There is so much he is dealing with, and then I keep remembering my dad and his dad.

On a lighter note, today at work we are sharing memories with a large anniversary celebration for some employees. 2-employees have hit their 20-year anniversary with the company, and 1-employee has hit his 10-year anniversary. With 29 employees total, we now have 6-active employees with 20 years service. So, we will tell stores, share memories, eat a wonderful meal, and eat from 3-different cakes.

My mom was working yesterday on wording for some save the date cards for her 90th birthday. She put on it no gifts. I added, bring memories and stories to share. For people live in the hearts of those that remember them, and the stories will include people that are no longer with us, and the stories will make sure that her stories become part of us. As will the stories that we tell today at our luncheon, as will the stories that my husband and his brother and sister will share this weekend up in Maine.

Memories also puts into perspective what is important in life. Living, Loving, Sharing, Laughing and Caring for others.