When I found out I was Old! And What I did About it!
by Chef Joe Marosla Eidem
No matter what your age is, no matter how hard it is to get out of bed in the morning, if you think positive you can do anything.
Chef Joe Marosla Eidem
Last week I received a telephone call from a lady who asked if I ever did any public speaking. I said, “A little, why?” She said she couldn't find a speaker for her senior group and asked if I could do it! Well right then I knew, I’d better come up with something pretty good.
I asked her, “What do you want me to speak about?” She replied, “Anything that interests you.” Well, cooking interest me, I am a Chef, but will that interest all of them? So I thought how about talking about cooking for senior citizens? Now that's a good subject, but I am not a senior citizen, I am a boomer. I am still under 60, and I do have my AARP card, but that does not mean I am a senior.
While my wife and I were watching TV recently, there was a commercial with a very elderly couple playing with their grandchildren. I have nine grandchildren, and my wife and I have been married 37 years. I asked her, “Do you think we look that old to our grandchildren?” NOW without a single beat she laughed and said, “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
I thought to myself… “I am the life of the party,” but the party has been ending at 8 p.m. The time I get up now is the time I use to get home! Ok, Ok, I did not find that funny at all. I proceeded to my bathroom and looked in the mirror; close into the mirror. Please, don't look close into a mirror after 50! I always thought I was in good shape (round is a shape). I am walking more, but it's always to the bathroom! As I looked closer into the mirror it came to me. “This is a trick mirror! She planned this all the time!”
There in the mirror was a balding, gray haired elderly overweight man. That's not me! I don't look a day over 30, well maybe 40. I have lots of brown hair (on the sides), and I am maybe 20 pounds over weight…so when did this happen? When did I get old?
Well I started listing some signs I should have recognized:
- I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear a word anyone is saying!
- I'm the first one to find the bathroom wherever I go.
- I'm very good at telling stories over and over and over again.
- It takes two tries to get up from the couch, well maybe four.
- Happy hour is a nap.
- Every time I suck in my gut my ankles swell.
- I run out of breath going down the stairs.
- My ears are hairier that my head.
- Everything that works hurts, and what doesn't' hurt doesn't work. • I always use valet parking because I know they will not forget where they parked my car.
- And finally, I know all the answers, but nobody asks me the questions.
Ok so I am old! But I thought what have I learned in the past 1/2 century? I learned that I am the most powerful magnet in the universe. I can attract the law of attraction. If I get up every morning and I start my day in a good mood, I will attract everyone I meet in a good mood. Great things will happen to me. If I smile at someone they will smile back. I have found out there is nothing I can't do, it may take a little longer but I can do whatever I put my mind to.In 1997 / 98, I don't really remember the exact year, my family was told I would not live throughout the night. When I woke from a coma it was October; 3 months went by. The doctor said I could return to work in January; I went back to work in November. Why? Because there is nothing I can't do.
No matter what your age, no matter how hard it is to get out of bed in the morning, if you think positive you can do anything. Remember laughter attracts joy, it releases negativity. I asked my Aunt Mary, who was 86-years-old, what keeps her so positive? She said, “I live everyday as if it was my last, and I want my last day to be the best day.”
Ok I know now I am old and I can't change that, however, I will always think I am 30 (in my own mind!). When I was 30, I was over 315 lbs. I thought all men's shirts came with XXX's. I am just finding out you can buy shirts without the X's. Discovering I was old was one thing, but going to bed with a CPAP machine for sleep apnea because I was obese, using a cane because I was obese, having no energy because I was obese, watching every chair I sat in because I was obese, asking for a seat belt extension on the airline because I was obese…all this I did have control of!
I cannot imagine losing 50, 70 or 80 lbs. But I could lose 5 pounds, so that is what I did, I lost 5 lbs 18 times. No Diet - Lifestyle Change. By committing to eating better, you can reduce your risk of many chronic diseases - including heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain cancers - while increasing your energy and stamina. Healthy eating can even lower “bad” LDL cholesterol. By developing your own plan for healthy eating, you'll be able to expand your range of healthy choices to include a variety of foods, especially delicious vegetables, grains, and fruits that you may have previously ignored. Start with moderation, cut your portion size!
In the next few issues I will discuss how to change your lifestyle easily with a new outlook on life and your health. Until then, eat well and stay healthy.
