"All
you need is love. But a little chocolate
cake
now and then doesn’t hurt."
-
Charles M. Schulz
It was Chicago...it had been a long and
productive day…it was a small steak – probably less than 6 ounces once it was
cooked – AND it was excellent! Yes sir,
there is little I like better than a good steak. It turns out, however, a good steak doesn’t
like me very much.
For most of my life I have been an
unrestricted calorie-consuming machine.
Aside from a shellfish allergy acquired unexpectedly in the middle of my
third decade, little has been off limits.
While I do like the stuff…like most people, some better than others…food
has been pretty much fuel to me.
As I have aged, the amount of fuel has had
to be reduced to keeping my schoolgirl figure…the kind of food fairly
unrestricted, until that small “…probably less than 6…” ounce steak. As I tucked in for the night, my tummy was
slightly churning, and it kept on churning most of the night…I was sleepless in
Chicago!
It
didn’t happen all at once…
This needs to be backed up just a
little. In recent years we moved to
Southern California. It’s a nice place…a
comfortable lifestyle…a warm climate.
Historically, I have been the active person in our two-member nuclear
family…dragging myself out of bed to the gym, or jogging around the
block(s). It’s not that Molly wasn’t
active, but she was…well, not so active.
In the latter years of Missouri and when we
moved to Detroit, things began to change.
She did some water aerobics, began a little yoga and from time to time strength
training. Looking for some activity we
could do together, she introduced me to that ‘girly exercise’ yoga. “Girly exercise…,” yep that’s what I
thought. Reminded of the lyric from A
Chorus Line, “What I did for love…” I agreed to do this pansy
activity. Of course, I said none of
this, but simply replied, “Sure, let’s do it.”
Yoga, as it turns out, is anything but an
easy exercise activity. Like anything
else, one should start off slowly, and our instructor was mercifully gentle,
but Yoga? Well, I found out quickly one
should not judge a book – or exercise – by its appearance. Fortunately, one is greatly encouraged to
concentrate on one’s breath, and not try to do too much. That was not a problem in the early going,
and while somewhat strenuous, increasing the capacity of my envelope has been
gradual, and frankly pretty enjoyable!
It
used to be me…
In Southern California, the tables have
turned in our little family. Molly has
found religion, er…I mean the exercise virus.
She joined a ‘women’s only’ gym near our home and finds herself there
most days. In addition to yoga there is
boot camp (an eclectic exercise style that does a little of everything –
strength, endurance, flexibility and balance), Zumba and something called TRX –
yeah, I don’t get it either. In addition
to this, most mornings we take a brisk hour-long 4-mile (6.4km) walk…she keeps
me up to date about politics and sports during these regular events.
I have been a self-motivated loner from an
exercise standpoint most of my life, and because I am a Medicare ‘Silver
Sneaker’ I have found a nice health club where I can do a little personal yoga,
strength training and swimming – I haven’t had the courage yet for their Zumba
classes. I keep waiting until I am in
“…better shape…”
What
about the fuel?
The other thing, however, has been a
dietary change. We have gone to a
Mediterranean style gluten free diet.
Well, I should say, Molly has gone to a Mediterranean style gluten free
diet. In addition, we have migrated away
from eating red meat…not really a conscious decision...it has just worked out
that way. The ‘…we…,’ of course, means when
I am at home. On the road, I am not so
discriminate, or have not been so deliberate in what I eat.
Traveling, ah yes, that was the point here
wasn’t it. It was Chicago with that
really tasty 6-ounce steak and sleepless night!
Well, I thought this was simply an aberration…maybe the cut of
meat…maybe the lateness of the hour…possibly the time change. Fast-forward to Austin, Texas a couple of
weeks ago. It was the second small 6-ounce
or so steak I had had since Chicago – didn’t give it a second thought, it was
excellent, but once again it was a tough night – sleepless, this time, in
Austin!
I am not the sharpest chisel in the toolbox,
but those two remarkably similar nights helped me appreciate that I might not
be able to continue to be an indiscriminate calorie consumer…that I might just
need to be a little more careful about the petrol I put in the tank these
days…that I might just be getting a little older and that, paraphrasing
Professor Henry Higgins, “…I’ve grown accustomed to her, ah…fuel,” and that my
body has accommodated to a leaner fare.
In fact, it seems to have become another sign as find myself entering
the ‘…last quarter of the game…’ Richer
food may just be coming ‘off the table,’ as it were.
Maybe
things really are simpler…
My friend Marc Cicero says growing older
is a natural part of life and that it should be embraced…that in movement
through different stages of this journey, one should embrace the acquisition and
demonstrated cultivation of their gifts and skills.…mixing them with wisdom and
virtue.
My other friend Marc Aurelius continues
the thought by saying aging simplifies our lives…if we embrace it and try
not to hang on to a youth slipping away like a lizard shedding its skin, it can
be richly rewarding.
In fact, I do agree with the stoic philosophy of
self-reliance and self-accountability. I
embrace the philosophic position that one should face the changing stages of
life with the experience of the past informing the optimism of yet another
day. I accept the fact that when I look
in the mirror, the strange looking fellow is really me and NOT my father. I feel I am aging with a daily-enhanced
excitement for what might lie around the next, yet unknown, corner.
I get all that philosophic stuff…I just
want to say this…
Man, I’m going to miss that steak!!!
- ted
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