A Biological "Reboot"

 Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday Thought.

 Of course, the big thing we could be talking about this week would be the very hot temperatures that are being recorded in the Great Plains and surrounding area, due, they say, to what they call a “heat high” pressure area that is parked over us.  I don’t know much about meteorology, but I suspect that this phenomenon is one that has been around for many, many years, but has just in the last few decades become a “thing” for forecasters to talk about.

We’ve had very hot temperatures, along with very high humidity, off and on, for as long as we can know.  I think we’re not quite as tough as we used to be, though, years ago.  And I also think we are healthier and live longer because we don’t have to tough it out in the hot weather department as we did years ago.  So there’s a trade-off there…one I’m willing to take.

But let’s go on to another subject, shall we? 

The house we live in is a bi-level.  In order to get anywhere, we have to either go up or go down stairs.  This can be somewhat of a challenge at times, but most of the time the advantages that are built into the house far outweigh our having to climb or descend steps to get somewhere.  The woods of Pawnee Prairie Park are right behind our lot, we have lots of room, the house is well-built and in good condition, and we are really enjoying the neighborhood.  We have no intention of moving until we have to do so for some reason…such as having to make that final move to the funeral home.

A few days ago, we were going down the steps from the upper level to the garage when I froze about half-way down.  I didn’t go down.  I didn’t go up.  After about a second and a half, I began again my descent down the steps.

What happened?  Well, nothing to be alarmed about, really.  Sometimes my arms or legs don’t always do what I’d like for them to do and I have to do a kind of reset…start over…a reboot, if you will.  Usually, the reluctance of my limbs to comply with my wishes has something to do with my safety in some way.  And that’s what happened then.  I became just a little unsure of my footing, which, by the way, is not unusual for older folks, and my feet, and I suppose also my brain got together and said, whoa…we’re going to just stop everything until we get things straightened out.  It just took literally a second or so to reset everything, and I proceeded down the steps with the wife coming along with me.  On the rest of the way down, she asked me what happened, and I told her.  We saw the humor in what happened, and went on our way.

Now, I could have bemoaned our advancing age and the fact that 20 or 30 years ago this would never have happened.  I could have been upset with myself that my body failed…even for a second...to do what I asked it to do.  I have learned, though, that when things like this happen, usually it’s for a good reason…one that has to do with my well-being and general health.  I’ve come to realize that something inside of me is trying to help me rather than hinder me.  And I’m fine with that.

There are also other things in life now that are different from what they were some time ago.  I used to be an active volunteer in Emergency Medical Services, and was often “on call…” that is, I went about my usual daily activities, but wore a pager or radio that would tell me when someone needed an ambulance.  I had to be within 5 minutes of the EMS garage at all times while on call, and responded as quickly as possible.

The “on call” time also included nights.  I laid out my clothes when on call so I could quickly get into them and out to my vehicle for the trip to the garage.  I prided myself in being able to hear the page, get up, dressed, out the door and into my vehicle in less than a minute.  The garage was about two minutes away if I punched it.  Local law enforcement knew who we were and why we were speeding through town in the middle of the night, and didn’t bother us, so we made it out of the garage with the ambulance in good time.

Contrast that with today.  I rouse up out of sleep, sit on the side of the bed for about a minute getting my bearings, take off my CPAP, and trundle awkwardly to the bathroom, sometimes hitting the door frame of the bathroom as I tumble through it.  Things gradually get better from there, and I’m becoming more ready for the day as the minutes tick away.  But it takes about an hour in the morning for me to be anywhere close to “normal,” anymore.  And I certainly wouldn’t be able to be up, dressed, and out to my vehicle in under a minute anymore.

But, I’m good with that.  While I sometimes still miss EMS, I don’t miss having to get up in the middle of the night to go to a call.  I’m good with the time it takes me in the mornings to do my daily bathroom business.  That business includes getting the morning pills out of their bottles.  I call them my “stay alive” pills, because without them, I may well not be around.  Our family has a history of relatively early demise due to cardiac issues, and I believe these medications are helping me to be relatively healthy, at least in a cardiac sense.  Some of them also make life easier in general by keeping arthritic pain at bay and helping me breathe in spite of my allergies.

Older age can be a time of melancholy, thinking of our past and wishing we were still 30 years old.  Or it can be a time of gratefulness and thanksgiving because we have the blessings of longer life and a better quality of living than many had in those past times.  I choose, although some days it’s more difficult to make this choice than on other days, to be grateful.  I hope you do the same, regardless of your age.

 

Blessings.