So here we are going into the last week of November… Thanksgiving leftovers are all but gone and Christmas is right around the bend. Where has this year gone?
January 2012 was a bit busy as Dad had his knee surgery. I guess that consumed a couple of weeks as he spent time in the hospital and rehab. I spent a lot of time helping him those first couple months of the year. I guess that kept me busy. I’m glad that his knee turned out well in the end and he still wants to get the other one done. Its nice to see him getting around again even with the hobble he still has from the other knee.
I’m trying to think of what went on in my life between his knee surgery and his kidney issues. Its sad to think that the milestones in my life are built around either family or personal illnesses. I guess I spent a bit of time working at the race track on Saturday’s but I gave that up after it got too uncontrolled. I made that decision fairly quickly based on events. It was a good decision. I have enjoyed my weekends even when they were just sitting at home.
I’ve put miles on the motorcycle this summer riding to and from work as well as taking jaunts on the weekends. My average pleasure rides were in the neighborhood of 120 – 150 miles but there were a couple longer days. I also road a couple charity rides this summer. I really enjoy having the bike. The only regret I have is that I waited so long to get it.
Unfortunately, the ATV use has suffered from having the road bike. I even pondered selling the ATV a couple times this year but decided against it as I do use it to plow snow and such. Working at the track, the ATV was in use every weekend, but I wouldn’t trade the weekends I’ve had on two wheels for working at the track again. It wasn’t worth it financially or physically. My back handles the road bike much better than bouncing around at the track on the ATV.
Dad had the issue with his kidney’s trying to shut down. What a fun couple of weeks that was! I’m glad that everything worked out in the end. I don’t think Dad realized how sick he was until a while after he got out of the hospital. It’s taken quite a while for everything to come back to normal. I’m glad things didn’t go the other way. He’s been struggling with his sugar since the kidney episode but that is something we can deal with.
I’ve had gained back some of the weight I had lost which has also raised my sugar somewhat. My sugar got so low when I was at my lower weight that I let some come back since the doc didn’t seem to want to touch my meds at that point. Now that Dad has had this kidney episode, the doc doesn’t want to put me on other meds because I have a tendency to get all the problems Dad has. I decided I lost weight once, I can probably do it again. It hasn’t been as easy this time as last. I’m not sure why. It may be partly because my back is bothering me more so I’m doing less or just that my mental state isn’t what it was then. I really WANTED the weight off back then. I joined a new gym that is opening soon in Hermitage. I am hoping that some support from friends and some knowledgeable exercise trainers will get me back in the groove to lose more weight.
Thanksgiving ended up being kind of interesting this year. My aunt invited her 94 year old friend who was born in Scotland to join our family gig. She had some interesting stories after dinner. Older people from other lands have such interesting stories. I wonder stories someone who was born in the 2000’s will have to say when they reached 94. “Oh… It was amazing… We had these devices that we hooked to our televisions and to the Internet … We could play games for hours even days without stopping…” Will the children of the time look up and say “Great Grampa… What is a television?” What legacy will be left to them?
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to where my life is and where it is going of late. I need to make some changes so that I don’t end up either being a recluse who stays in bed all day or worse. The only way these changes are going to take place is if I make the decision to get out and do something about it. I am looking at the gym this way. My hope is that variety will keep me interested in going. Its not just for the weight loss and sugar control, although those are plenty good enough reasons on their own. I want to try to get my muscles loosened up and strengthed to hopefully 
help my back. I really don’t like what I’ve been told things might be like if I end up having surgery on it.
December is almost here. I have more holiday spirit than I did last year. I’ve managed to get my tree up and hope to finish decorating tonight. We’ll see what the holidays bring. I’m really not interested in gifts this year, either buying or receiving. I’m sure I’ll end up shopping and spending way more than I want to but I guess that’s what its all about.
Off we go into the new year… I guess we’ll have to see what it holds.
~Cappy