Happy Birthday to Me

In a way, today is a surprise party for me.

I was told by a doctor many years ago, around 1982 or so, that if I didn't change my ways, I would not make it to 30. And age 40 was almost out of the question.

Well, today I'm 52. I've treated my body like a friggin' amusement park for most of the years after I was given a virtual death sentence. It's only in the last year or two that I have really gotten serious about improving my health. And surprisingly, my health has declined significantly during this time.

WTF is up with that?

I've been eating vegetables. I've been eating salads. (Regular readers will remember I almost had a salad kill me a few weeks ago.) I eat whole grains, and almost never eat meat. I even exercise a bit. I can't walk, so it's not like I go jogging, but I use my Suzanne Somers ThighMaster regularly : ).

I've been losing weight, and hardly drink. Again--WTF?

Years ago my father once stated, (he was kind of goofy) that health food is bad for you. It'll kill you. I always figured it was his usually screwed up view of things, but maybe he was right. Health food hasn't been a panacea for me, I'll tell you.

But, for today, I'll keep on doing what seems to be the right way to do things.

I've been taking a more positive outlook on things lately. Sure, most days I start with an attitude of wondering who peed in my corn flakes this morning, but I'm trying like hell to think, it's not pee, it's soymilk.

And, things have been getting better. Just today, I found out that I have my name on the state unclaimed property list. Maybe it's that mil 5 I forgot about, or some incredibly wealthy distant relative that left me an immense fortune. But most likely it's some bank account with a buck three ninety five. Still, hope springs eternal.

I sit here today, banging on this keyboard, and life is pretty good. I have a lot of friends, both in my RL and in my cyber life. I treasure them all. I have a good woman who cares for me, as I do her, and a daughter who loves me. The kiddo is even planning to visit me today, so I am pretty happy about that.

But most of all, I feel that I have hope for tomorrow. Sure, the odds are I'm going to have a heart attack and die in a year or two (everyone knows I'm the least lucky guy on the friggin planet) but for today, I feel like I may beat the odds. Today, I look forward rather than backwards. It's a good feeling.