Recently at a Weight Watchers' meeting, we were discussing overall health as well as weight loss, such as the benefits of exercise and drinking more water. I shared a view I've long held about the vehicle each of us is issued at birth and it struck a cord with several of the ladies.
Think about the year you were born. You were issued a vehicle at that time and today that is the one you are still driving. We all know it takes more maintenance to keep a 1951 model on the road than say a 1976 model and if you want to keep going, you have to do that maintenance! Many times, we tell ourselves, we don't have the time to exercise or to eat right. I can tell you it is a little more expensive many times to eat right or it takes more time to fix a salad rather than to pop pizza rolls or a hot pocket into the oven or microwave, but the benefits do outweigh the disadvantages, if we will just make the effort! We know that water is better for us than soda, especially for organs like kidneys and bladder, but so often we think of it as more comforting to reach for that extra blast of caffeine. And don't even talk to me about energy drinks!
We all know what happens to the vehicles that are not properly maintained. You see them broken down on the side of the highway, sometimes with the highway patrol's little orange sticker on them, showing they've been there for a day or two. And after that, they land in the salvage yard, many times never to leave there again. For us, that is called the nursing home or the funeral home, for that is where our personal vehicle lands if we do not take proper care of it.
In this world, we are issued only one vehicle. We can do the maintenance and there are certainly cosmetic procedures available (aka a new paint job) and some repair parts, new knees and replacement hip joints, but there are no trade-ins. This is the ONLY vehicle you get so you better take care of it....or else!
When I get tired of exercising, walking in the cold or the heat here in Missouri, trying to convince myself I don't have time to go to the YMCA and swim my laps, I remember my old neighbor, Jack. Jack was a great guy (a good Democrat) and we had many a lively conversation. Jack liked to smoke, he enjoyed his liquor and his idea of exercise was walking the 150 feet from his mobile home to the highway convenience store he ran with his wife, Barb. One winter evening, Jack slipped on the ice on his front porch and broke his ankle. (They were having a big family spaghetti dinner and Jack had run back over to the store to get a couple bottles of wine. My understanding is when he fell, he was trying to save the wine!) Within weeks, the doctors had to amputate Jack's foot because his circulation was too poor to keep blood flowing to his foot. Jack was not yet 70 years old and today, his widow lives near his grandchildren, where she has had the opportunity to watch them grow up. So, on days when I get the 'lazies' and think 'enough!', I don't want to do this anymore, I think of Jack and remember I don't want to start losing parts off my vehicle before it is time to report to the salvage yard that one final time.
So what year vehicle are you driving? And what kind of maintenance are you doing on it? Remember....no trade-ins!
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