It seems like summer dropped from the sky the last two days without allowing spring to gently slide into place. It appears it won’t last long as a small dose of winter has been forecasted for the next two days. That’s the beauty of living in a place where you’re able to experience the four seasons. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how many people in the world never experience the seasonal changes we encounter every year. I listen to many people bitch and moan about the weather and I must admit, even I do it on occasion.
In the grand scheme of life I thoroughly enjoy everything each season brings with it. Now that spring has arrived I’ll enjoy the unpredictability of the day to day temperatures and weather. One day it could be 80 degrees and the next day might be in the high 20s. Spring reminds me a lot of the things we encounter on our journey through life. Our lives could be cruising along on a freeway without a care in the world. Our car windows are down and it seems like we have the pedal on the floor as we put miles and miles behind us.
Suddenly a deer can dash across the road in front of us and everything in our life can be shattered. If we collide with the deer we might end up in the ICU unit in the hospital. We might wreck our car. We might crash into another car and hurt someone else or we might even drift into the sky in search of a new nesting ground. No matter what happens it’s painfully obvious that there are no guarantees in life. Life has no favorites and father time is undefeated.
When I was a child I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I was five years old, but I remember very clearly what the doctor said to me at the time. He told if I stayed away from smoking and drinking it would increase my odds of living longer than expected. In the early 70s there wasn’t much known about diabetes. Heck, they hadn’t even developed blood glucose monitors at the time, so it was virtually impossible to see any patterns. I did my four urine tests a day, but urine could sit in the bladder for hours on end and present false readings. The readings might show negative for any glucose in the urine and that was because four hours earlier there was none present. When I was given my set of directions with all the do this and don’t do that items highlighted I made special note of it.
That is the reason why I get so frustrated with some people when they will not change for the betterment of their own health. We only get one life and it is up to us to increase our odds by listening to what the professionals tell us. Last winter when my dad had a heart attack I knew it would be a life-changing experience for him. I know it scared the heck out of him as it did all of us family members. We listened to the doctors when they told us he would have to make a lot of changes and we were ready to help him.
For the first few months everything went well. He stayed away from the stuff on the menu that he wasn’t supposed to indulge in and I felt good about it because I know there are many things I would like to experience, but have always avoided for the benefit of my health. Lately I’d like to pull my hair out when I sit back and watch him from a distance. How can you tell someone you care so much about to stop doing what they’re doing? He passed his stress test in flying colors so he thinks he’s all okay. I just can’t imagine being that ignorant to the real problem, the problem that can’t be seen or felt from the outside until it’s too late. It was minutes from being too late last time, yet that seems to be long forgotten. It’s not forgotten in my mind. I live it every day and the lack of concern and disregard for following a more strict diet that avoids foods that are not good for people who have had heart attacks is alarming. How can someone so smart be so ignorant to the fact that he was given a second chance?
I’m sure this happens to people all over the world, but for me I just wish my own blood could see the things I compromised while growing up and even into today to ensure I could live the longest life possible. I know old habits break hard, but they never break at all if you don’t give them an honest effort. Food tastes good. I get that, but continuing to fill your body with the things that led to first episode isn’t good.
I also know that one person can never help another person unless the other person wants the help. I’ll sit back and keep doing what I do while cruising down this highway. You never know when a deer will bolt out in front of you and at that point I guess it doesn’t matter what precautions you have taken along the way. As hard as it is to watch I believe I have to sit back and let the events unfold in front of me because whether I like it or not I’m pretty sure none of us have a lot of control over how it all ends because our path has been predetermined.
I’ve rambled a little bit tonight. This didn’t go in the direction I had intended. That’s the beauty of writing. Once you start writing you never know where you’re going until you dot the last sentence with a period.