If only my name was Calvin. Alas, there are days I feel more like Pigpen.
Resolved… I just can’t make a million resolutions that I’ll never keep. How about just one: I resolve to try to take better care of myself. This body is the only one I get, so I need to take better care of it before it completely gives out.
Diet: It matters what I put in my car’s gas tank, and it matters what type of fuel I put in my own body. I resolve to pay more attention to using the best fuel. This includes a good look at what goes into my garden so I can grow most of our produce.
Activity: I hate “exercise” because it makes me think of running (which I hate), or gyms full of little kids doing jumping jacks (let’s not go there). I’ll be teaching swimming lessons, and will try to do some laps between classes, but that’s not going to provide as much activity as I really need. My home gym is great, but it’s in the garage, which is freezing cold this time of year (really, the refrigerator is warmer than the garage). I’m considering developing a routine that can be done in the nicely heated house on an exercise ball. Dr. Synonymous’ mentions of his Get on the Ball exercise classes sound low-impact and warm, so I’ll look into doing something similar.
Weight: Not going to worry about it. Since my rheumy and PT both have said my weight is okay (I think they’re lying), I’m going to concentrate on eating well and getting at least 30 minutes of activity daily. With any luck, gravity will lessen its hold on me, but I’ll quit worrying about it.
Meds: After my horrid ordeal with pancreatitis and being off meds for three months for surgery & recovery, it was difficult getting back into the habit of taking all those pills & shots. Add in a schedule change and additional prescriptions, and things have been less than ideal. I resolve to resume taking all prescriptions exactly as prescribed.
The resolution is to try. If I have an off-day, then I resolve to not give up but try again. This should finally be a resolution I can keep.
Good luck with any resolutions you make!
∞ itis 
Good for you! What a great attitude to take on resolutions. I see you had quite a year – my own had a lot of difficulty. I am learning to look for the gift in each one, not just the fun and terrific ones. I have been dealing with my Mom’s dementia (I only give it lower case letters) actively for the past two years – not easy to do. Yet I have found several gifts in it that have helped a lot – I can say the same for a lot of the crap fro RA as well. Though that takes a bit more doing. I can relate to not having meds for awhile, I broke my hip last February and didn’t have my methotrexate for three weeks. So not only dealing with hip, I had a terrible flare-up as well as trouble with my hands and shoulders. Not a comfortable year, yet it also had many gifts. Sometimes it takes a while to see the gifts, sometimes a very looooooong while. Hang in there, you’re doing a great job!
We just take one day at a time and find a way to make things work, don’t we. Dealing with aging parents has interesting challenges. I hope you have good support so you’re not having to do it all yourself! Has your hip healed well?
I am happy to report my hip is doing very well. I had such care from my surgeon, the hospital and Stafford Health Care in Des Moines, WA for rehab. They took such good care of me from when I was helpless to being able to walk again. They worked me hard in therapy and that was ot always easy. They took my methotrexate away for three weeks to help my 20 inch incision heel better – but I ended up with a really bad flare up. It was worth it because I had a lot of alone time during 8 weeks of rehab.
I have since moved my Mom to an adult family home about 3 months ago – but I am still so drag my ass tired. I couldn’t believe how tired I was the day she moved. Then it was applying for Medicaid; that is finally just about done. Yes, an eventful year.
Wishing you a really great year in 2013!
WS, Thanks for the supportive comments about the Swiss ball which I refer to as a TV toning ball for many of my patients. The main reference for our church-based sessions is Sculpt Your Body with Balls and Bands by Denise Austin. A good web site is http://www.ball-exercises.com with little stick people demonstrating each exercise. The numbers of reps they recommend is a bit much for beginners. At church, we just do 5 reps of 15 stretches/exercises (5 standing, 5 sitting on the ball and 5 lying on the floor) and 3 100-200 bounce music assisted bounces on the ball. I estimate that it takes 4 minutes of bouncing 5 days per week for a month to offset the Christmas baked goods.
Good luck with your very reasonable resolution. Thanks again for posting. Happy New Year from Dr Synonymous! apj
If my church had its own building, I’d advocate us starting a similar class. That would be great. We meet in a school, though, so everything except Sunday morning happens in people’s homes and it’s hard enough hosting youth group; I’m not hosting an exercise class, too :O
I re-inflated my exercise balls and have started doing some of the exercises on the website you mentioned (I hope to order the book soon). I’m amazed at how much can be done with a ball & bands — low-impact, too. Thank you for sharing such great information.
Sounds good! I am skipping the resolutions this year. I am continuing the PT and med plan. Best to you in 2013!
Thank you, and to you, too.
So sorry to hear about the pancreatitis…I’m sure that was terrible. Here’s to a surgery-free 2013!
Surgery-free sounds awesome! I wish the same for you.