Try Again
Well... You guys have probably not seen me around in quite a while and when you did it wasn't all that often but I feel that I should post here.
I'm starting over. I didn't really gain any weight but I didn't really lose anything significant by graduation. The reason is because on October 27th, my father died.
My dad had been active all his life. He lifted weights, jogged, and was constantly hitting the gym. I remember being a little girl and flipping through his stacks of muscle magazines and begging him to try some of his protein shakes (amazing how he could make that chalky power taste so good). Toward the end of his life he developed back problems that severely inhibited his ability to do any of the things he loved. The doctors decided that surgery would fix his problem and so after a round of testing, he went in. Unfortunately there were complications but the doctors brought him back from his crash. Another round of testing and they believed him to be stable enough to try again.
This time they could not start his heart. The news came about 3 weeks into my final quarter at college. His funeral was on Halloween... Then came Thanksgiving... my birthday... Graduation... and Christmas. I just haven't been able to do much more than concentrate on work and getting a job and with the holidays pounding his death into my mind I suppose I just didn't think about my own health.
After the New Year his autopsy results finally came in. The ultimate reason for my fathers death was Ischaemic heart disease caused by obesity... Even though he fought his entire life to be healthy. My father was also a diabetic and had poor circulation in his legs which caused him to gain quite a bit of weight in his 50s. He died at the age of 58 leaving behind his four children, two of them barely starting high school.
Still I had to continue on, I had student loans to pay back in sixth months and several places had called me for interviews.
On January fourth I had jury duty. I decided to walk up to courthouse steps instead of waiting on their slow elevator. As I walked up only 2 flights I found that I was already winded, and my heart felt like bursting out of my chest. I looked in the mirror that day and cried as I realized that my sedentary lifestyle and general disregard for my own health had made me rather obese. Only two pairs of jeans I own actually fit me, my heart races over activities like standing up from the floor, and I can't remember the last time I even tried to exercise.
I realized that I was well on my way to ending up just like my father.
So I'm starting over. I'm making a new goal and I'm going to try and finish what I started last year. It's time to stop making excuses and start making progress.
I miss you Daddy, and this time I'm going to make you proud.
Robert Rivera
April 2nd, 1951 - October 27th, 2009
|
