Calisthenics

Calisthenics as always are my lifesaver. The osteoarthritis that I have can become quite annoying if I do not exercise every day and that includes my calisthenics and walking at least 14,000 to 18,000 steps per day. At 75 I can pretty much do those exercises as well as I did ten years ago which is good news; probably I do not do them as well as I did them twenty years ago. For me that is such a long time ago when I was still working. The years, as it turns out have been somewhat kind to me, and not so kind to Edward. In aging, chronic conditions completely unknown to him prior to the event occurring have marred his aging years unfortunately. COVID-19 has been hard for him as well because he loves to get out and about shopping and going to meetings. Because he doesn't have an exercise mind-set (as he calls my tendency) just getting up and walking about doesn't come naturally to him and that has been a problem for him which he has tried to counteract by walking about with his walker every hour or so. But the lack of strong exercise like walking through five stores in an hour or so in the morning, has been missed for him. I do not mind running on the spot for 50 minutes but that is unappealing to him. He has gradually though come to my way of thinking by getting up and moving about but this latest episode has been difficult for him. 

I guess the kindness to me in the passing years is actually aging; I never expected to live as long as I have to be honest. When I had the nervous disorder in my late 20s the doctor said that this could recur so many times in my life and might shorten my lifespan. I did listen to both the physician and the psychiatrist with regard to how best to regulate my life - live a quiet lifestyle mostly at home and avoid conflict or unpleasant situations because my nervous system was extremely strained and what one would now call PTSD could flare up at any time. In many ways I totally followed their advice as much as I could. Conflicting information did lead me astray for a bit but I gradually pulled back into my little shell and was much happier. I did go back to work and that was rather stressful on occasion but when it became difficult I moved on to another job. So here I am at 75 and a half and amazingly in relatively good health although I do have to watch my nervous disorder as it can and does flare up on occasion. 

But for me athletics has been a lifeline for me all of my days. I love sports (in which I partake particularly) and it does lead to a healthy lifestyle. I watched on TV one day last year when a marathon runner in Italy locked down in his apartment ran a marathon on his balcony. Cheers to him; a job well done.