90 is the new 60

I had the honor of being invited to lunch with a group of our patients and a couple co-workers to celebrate a 90th birthday last weekend. It was one of our patients who turned 90 and he wanted to treat us to lunch so we could all spend time outside of the Rehab center socializing. It was a very enjoyable lunch, especially since he shared stories of his life with us.

He is a retired judge and told us about his experience taking the bar exam. Back when he took it, they had to type everything out on typewriters in a huge room with about 50 other people taking the test. It's a timed test, so once everyone was allowed to start, it was unnerving to hear the typewriters start clicking. He said it definitely made you more anxious and nervous about answering the questions. He had come prepared with extra long paper because he thought that would save time since he wouldn't have to change paper as often. So he begins answering the questions and is typing away at a nice pace. He had chosen a seat in the very back of the room because he felt that it would be less distracting...not as many people around him. At one point during the exam, a couple of his papers blew off the table under slipped under a door behind him.

Of course he had to try to get that paper, otherwise he wouldn't pass the test! So he tried to reach the paper with his hands, his pencil, other papers, but nothing was working. Unfortunately the door was locked - he told the exam monitor what had happened but she didn't have a key for the door. Although they called security, I guess they didn't have a key either. No idea what was in this room that they had to keep locked with no key to open but that was the demise of his first attempt at the bar exam.

He had to wait six months before he could take it again and his luck wasn't a whole lot better. This time he broke the ink ribbon on his typewriter in the middle of the test!! But because of his experience the first time, he brought a second typewriter with him! So he was able to finish the test this time around and PASSED!

He also shared with us how excited he was as his 90th birthday approached. He was excited up until the day before his birthday. On that day he stayed home all day because he was worried that something might happen to him and he wouldn't see his 90th birthday! He laughed about it afterwards.

He is a remarkable man and has accomplished a lot in his long life. He was a cub reporter during World War II and he was sent with another man from his newspaper to cover the Nuremberg Trials in Germany. He said it was a once in a lifetime experience to be able to witness those in person. He actually wrote a book about his experience decades later called The Nuremberg Legacy. It is an excellent history book that gives more details than you learned in your world history class in school!

Amazingly this man doesn't wear glasses or contacts. At 90 he can still drive and read without needing any assistance! I told him that I was looking forward to celebrating his 95th birthday with him! He just smiled.

Brings a Smile to My Face

Many things make me smile...being easily entertained has its benefits! I thought I'd share some of the things my patients have said or done that have made me smile...(forgive the disjointedness of this post)

When referring to his protruding stomach, one patient told me it was his "food blister" - I loved that!

We have a "coffee clutch" - a few women in one of our exercise classes that will exercise for about 20 minutes and then they sit in the back of the room and chat. They would love to get away with it for 30 minutes or longer except that I always go and break it up - I'm the "mean" staff person that makes the patients actually (gasp) exercise in the exercise class!! So the other day one of them told me that her daughter told her that since she is paying for the class, she should be able to sit and chat for as long as she wants!! Call me crazy but if you're paying for an exercise class, shouldn't you....exercise?

As a Personal Trainer/Exercise Physiologist, I think being slightly sadistic is a requirement. So I enjoy torturing helping my patients with new exercises. Some patients will adopt the new exercises into their routine with little or no complaining. However, I do have one patient who REALLY enjoys complaining about the new exercises. He will do them...and sometimes perform them in bad form so that I have to correct him before he injures himself. At which point he will loudly complain that I am just being mean!

That always bring a smile to my face!

Mine Are Petty Problems

I have been so busy and haven't updated my blog in AGES! I was going to write and let you all know about how I've been so frustrated and worn down from this chemistry class I am taking. However, I just read the post on the blog of Maya Thompson....married to Woody Thompson who is an old classmate of mine from Grade School to High School.

They have endured the most horrible situation you can imagine and throughout everything Maya has been keeping a blog to update everyone on their journey. Their little boy, Ronan, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in August 2010 when he was three years old. He just lost his battle with this horrible disease yesterday...one day after Mother's day and a few days before he would have turned four.

Maybe you don't want to read something that will make you cry - I guarantee you this will. Or maybe you just don't want to ruin your good mood or you would rather focus on your own problems. Most of us spend so much time and energy worrying about our everyday problems we forget that there are other people who are going through horrible situations that we could not even imagine.

If you can't quite manage to read through Maya's posts...even the latest one. At the very least, will you read about the Ronan Thompson Foundation? If you can, donate to help their cause. The very least you can do is to spread the Thompson Family's story so that we can all pitch in to help find a cure for this abhorrent disease. And maybe you can offer your support to the Thompson's during this unimaginably painful time. It doesn't matter if you don't know them - you will after reading their story. Keep little Ro's spirit alive - spend a little of your time reading about him and sharing his story.

Here is Ronan...

Moving On

I don’t know how many of you have heard that song “I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair” from the musical South Pacific. You might recognize it more as a theme song for a Clairol commercial in the ‘70’s. It doesn’t really matter either way, but that is the song that popped into my head the other morning when I was showering and it seemed appropriate.


My friends know that I’ve been dealing with a break-up and thinking there was a possibility of reconciliation. Well, I FINALLY got the clear answer that I wanted two months ago…..actually it’s information I should have been told about 4-5 months ago. His feelings for me changed. Fair enough, it happens. However, he didn’t have the balls to tell me that! He gave other (lame) reasons for ending the relationship and made it seem like it was something that could be worked out. Then when I offered my support for him to work out his issues, he cruelly let me go on thinking that he was seriously considering reconciliation for the past month. It’s only now that I find out he’s known this wasn’t going to happen - he's known for at least 4-5 months that his feelings had changed and there was no possibility of working things out.

So understandably, I am PISSED! I am not psychic and I can’t read minds….although sometimes I do envy Sookie’s ability on True Blood to do just that!! But I can’t and unless he had told me this earlier, there is no way I would have known! You don’t break up with someone and say you love them as you walk out the door. Talk about a mind fuck! Thank you very much for that! (Bitter - party of one!!)

So that’s about 4-5 months of my life I won’t get back. Not to mention the emotional stress and suffering. Luckily I have a fabulously wonderful group of friends that really helped me out! I LOVE all of them. I shared my dilemma with them and they all came through with advice, perspective, open ears, open hearts, and appropriate responses such as “I can’t believe he said that, what a jackass!” and “Let’s go grab a beer and flirt with the bartender…we’ll go have fun!”

Thankfully, I was able to vent my anger to him directly – no email there. I was able to tell him point blank that what he put me through was cruel and unfair. He handled the whole thing badly and I wish he had said something MUCH sooner so that I could have moved on sooner instead of wasting my time and energy on someone who didn't love me! I will probably look back at some point and appreciate the good times we had but that's not going to be today...probably not tomorrow either.

This is a venting post but also a turning point…I am moving on. His chapter has been closed and I am heading into a new one! I am looking forward to more fun times with my friends (like going back to the shooting range) and more flirting (Capri Blu here we come!)!

I am looking forward to finding someone who loves me and appreciates all of my gifts and my flaws (got plenty of them)! I deserve happiness and love and I look forward to having both with some fun and adventure mixed in!!

Hope

I have been neglecting my blog. Partly due to a lack of time but partly because I felt like I didn't have anything to write. Well, actually I had plenty to write but nothing that was good. Life has been rather stressful for the past few months and this last month or so has been a little more stressful. I didn't want to write a depressing post but I figure it IS a part of life, so here goes. 

The first issue is my parents situation. They sold their house almost two years ago now because they couldn't afford to live there anymore. That was like a death in the family - it was the house I had lived in since I was 6 months old. Very sad to lose it. They had a fifth wheel that they used to travel around in for about six months until my Mom decided that she really needed to be in a house again. Some place where she could garden again and they could have some stability. Well, they have not had any luck in their house hunt. They found a house last October that they bid on and went through the whole process only to have the bank reject their loan at the last minute. They had been renting an apartment for several months which they had to get out of by New Year's Eve and they found out about the bank rejecting their loan a day before that, so they had to move into the house of a former neighbor. The problem is this house is for sale, so they are now renting this house while continuing to look for another house they want to buy. It's been very frustrating and stressful for them. It's stressful for me as well because I wish I could help them in some way. I hate seeing my parents in this situation - they should be enjoying retirement now and not having to deal with this extra stress.

Another issue has to do with someone very dear to me whom I love very much. He is having problems moving forward in his life because of events in his past. I want very much to help him and I've given him information that would allow him to get help he can use. I am just afraid that he will not accept any help. I am afraid that he is stuck. He needs to realize that he is a wonderful person who deserves to be happy and deserves to be loved. Unfortunately I don't think that me telling him that will make him understand or make him believe it. I know that I can give him my love and support. I am here for him but I fear he won't reach out for the love and support I have offered.

The last issue isn't emotional but it is stressful. It's also my own doing. I am back in school (as you may know from a previous post) and of course that adds to the stress of everyday life. This semester I am taking chemistry and a lab that goes with it. So far it doesn't seem too bad but I've only had one week of school so far. It just adds to the stress I already have from work and other personal stresses.

I am not sure what I am being tested for but I definitely feel like I am being tested. I am a strong person though and I will persevere. I don't know how to not get through the downs in life. It's not in me to just lie down and give up...I'm a fighter and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Maybe some of it has to do with my middle name. Growing up I've always disliked my middle name (who doesn't dislike their middle name at some point?) but now I wonder if my Mom chose it to instill the meaning of my name into my life. Or maybe it was a reflection of that time period in her life and she chose the name so that it would bolster her own spirit. Either way, I feel like it has carried me through some tough times and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Thank you Mom!

Hope - 1. desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment. 2. one that gives promise for the future.

I continue to have hope. I hope for happiness. I hope for easier times for my parents. I hope for easier times for myself and my friends. I hope for my love to be returned. I HOPE!!