Keep a cheerful heart

 

Tuna and rice bowl with furikake
All hidden under wonderful crisp watercress.
With all that’s wrong with ourworld, from the suddenly very frightening increase in climate change to Russia’scontinuing aggression in Ukraine to the divisive political situation in ourcountry and the crazies who are trying to run things, you’d think we don’t needanything more to worry about. Especially those of us who are in the third stageof life and hoping for a lot of peace and quiet, good times with the worries ofthe world behind us. It is not to be so.

My mom lived into her late eighties(since I’m approaching her years, I take heart from that). But I remember hersaying to me that the trouble with living so long was that all your friendswere gone. I can count many people, once big parts of my life, who have passedon, and I miss them. But lately my thoughts are less on those who died thanthose with serious health problems that cause me to worry about them a greatdeal. Right now I can count two broken shoulders, three serious falls (when Isaid that Jordan added two more older relatives of a friend who had both justtaken bad falls), two cases of dizziness, a hip replacement in recovery, a caseof unexplained weakness. It’s tempting to say none of these are life-threatening,but the truth is when you get to your eighties, anything can be life threatening.In recent months, for instance, I have learned how serious—and sometime fatal—aUTI is. They call pneumonia “the old man’s friend” for obvious reasons, but itseems to me that any number of conditions can fit that moniker.

And when physical problems hitus elderly—there, I said the word! —they seem to hit in clusters. An email frommy best friend in high school and beyond tells me she fell, broke her shoulder,came home, and began experiencing dizzy spells to the point she couldn’tnavigate in her own house alone. I am glad to report that she is better. My ownbrother a while back was in rehab after surgery on a knee, caught Covid, followedby pneumonia, followed by am array of ills including dizziness when he stood. Iam so happy to report that he too seems to be doing better but it is after along spell of being bedridden.

It’s as though there’s amonster out there, lurking, waiting for that one sign of weakness, which willbe a signal to attack with an array of problems. I guess our option is to votefor health, watch for tiny symptoms before they turn into big problems, andkeep a cheerful heart. Proverbs 17:22 tells us, “A cheerful heart is goodmedicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” It’s a philosophy I try tolive by, but I think no matter how hard we try, each of us falls off thatcheerful wagon from time to time.

I did have a healthy, cheerfuldinner guest tonight. My friend, Mary V., who is a retired political science professor.We get into spirited political discussions, but of course we are both on almostthe same page—I am a bit more enthusiastic about another term for Biden thanshe is, but she agrees that he has done remarkable things and that hisexpertise particularly on the international front is amazing. She is one of myfriends who scorns Facebook—how I wish I could tell them to pick and choose andtake advantage of the good stuff and the fun stuff! Anyway I was able toenlighten her on a couple of things I saw: one was a new name for Moms forLiberty (forgive my language): Assholes with casseroles! The other was JamesComer’s whistleblower—the MAGA chair of the Oversight Committee has beencrowing about a witness who would totally unmask the Biden crime family. Turnsout the guy has been indicted on several counts, including acting as anunregistered foreign agent for China, and has skipped bail and is now a fugitiveat large. I do love it when these out-of-control Republicans end with egg ontheir face.

Another experimental dinnertonight. Mary is one of the people for whom I can try out new things, and sheinevitably likes them. Tonight was a rice bowl with tuna, flavored with soy andsesame oil and sparked up with watercress and furikake, a Japanese seasoningmade with dried seaweed, dried fish, dried herbs, etc. I didn’t taste it much,but it did make the dish look pretty.

Now it’s late, I’ve been workingon my neighborhood newsletter, and I’m ready to close out the day by reading abit.

Sweet dreams to all, and staycool, drink water, keep a cheerful heart—please! I already have enough peopleto worry about.