2021 Life Logs, Day 133: Live Long, Die Short
Date: Thursday, May 14, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High 66, Low, 48 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Hurray! Hurray! Sam, my 14 year-old grandson, got his first Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine today. It was just approved for kids in the 12-15 year-old group this week and it is already in arms. Fantastic.
Jed took Sam to rowing today as the vaccine appointment was just prior to practice. That gave me extra time to enjoy this beautiful spring day with lots of sunshine and a little less wind. As I was playing ball with Shadow in Shirley’s side and front yard, I took time to smell the roses. Well, not roses, but all of the beautiful blossoms in that yard that Shadow and I play in every afternoon. I have a table and two chairs down by the dock, but this afternoon I didn’t sit down. I just walked the perimeter of the yard taking photos of the blossoms. My very favorite today was the apple blossoms on a very old apple tree. Just beautiful. And I took the time to give thanks for living in such a beautiful setting.
After playing ball, I launched into putting together a garden bench that I bought earlier in the afternoon. I saw online that Job Lot had a teak 4-foot long garden bench with a back and I took off immediately to buy one. I love it, but what a pain to assemble. I need to tighten the bolts tomorrow morning and then it will be ready to sit on and admire my raised garden beds as they grow.
Just as I started on assembling the bench, Justin called. He was on his way to Home Depot to buy items to get Finca Maravilla ready for storm season. Already? That is two and half months away, but since they will be heading to England the middle of June and not returning until the middle of July, they need to get ready now. It was great to talk with him, but he asked me a question that haunts me. Why do we live in a country where truth is no longer revered. My father taught me that the worst thing in the world a person can do, other than kill another person, is to lie. I am sure I tried to teach my children the same thing. So now my adult ‘child’ wants to know why we would rely on Facebook, or any company, to control a politician’s lies. Should not that be done by the government? Should there not be a law that protects our democracy by saying that any politician that is found to lie repeatedly is removed from office? Food for thought.
My morning was spent attending the last meeting of the year for Falmouth Newcomers. Attending in this case meant tuning into a Zoom presentation. The title of presentation was Authentic Health and Successful Aging and the description sounded interesting. “Dr. Roger Landry is a preventive medicine physician, author of award-winning Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging, contributing author to ‘80 Things to Do When You Turn 80’, and President of Masterpiece Living, a group of multi-discipline specialists in the field of aging who partner with organizations to assist them in becoming destinations for continued growth and Centers for Successful Aging.” Dr. Landry was in Colorado today, but he and his wife life in East Falmouth. In today’s presentation, he focused on 10 things that will extend your life and keep you healthy as you age. His top 10 items were:
1. Use It or Lose It
2. Keep Moving
3. Challenge Your Brain
4. Stay Connected
5. Lower Your Risk (which includes your diet)
6. Never Act Your Age
7. Wherever You Are, Be There
8. Find Your Purpose
9. Have Kids in Your Life
10. Laugh
Dr. Landry’s information meshes with that of my health gurus, but it is always great to have what you know validated . . . and to be reminded. I was so glad that I tuned in as I had just decided to skip a couple of upcoming Newcomers’ socials. When Dr. Landry talked about staying connected, I went back to the Newcomers website and signed up. It is time to come out of my Covid bubble.
Okay. I just felt a strange ‘something’ at the base of my hairline on the back of my neck. I instinctively ‘attacked’ and came out with a tick and part of my scalp. Yikes! Ticks are around all year long, but last spring I had a few sightings, and that has evidently begun again. I hate ticks!
