https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/athletic/

 

Well I had to laugh when I saw today’s Daily Writing Prompt.  The last time I was any where near athletic was in my early 40s. I did pretty well for most of my forties until I had a stroke at age 49 then it was all downhill after that. My best athletic or rather when I was at my personal best was when I was in the U.S. Army. I went in at age 18 and left at age 22. I was in tip top shape. Anyone who has ever been through Basic Training knows that you must or will be in the best physical condition of your entire life.

Unfortunately I’ve had to live with the effects of the stroke. Losing most of the vision in my left eye, coordination, perpetual exhaustion, balance issues etc.  The latest thing is losing sensation in my right arm.  One night while on overtime I tried to reach for my utensil to eat my food and my arm would not obey my commands.  This has happened several more times. Mostly I just ignore it. Can’t stand doctors or hospitals. Had my fill of them along with the disrespect abuse that goes along with Western medicine. Between 2008 and 2015 I was in the hospital on a regular basis. Horrible experiences and for the most part they can’t or don’t help you. Waste of time and money. Plus I don’t want to take hospital and doctor bills with me into retirement and No Health insurance does not cover everything.  Slowly I’m moving towards most holistic natural health treatments as modern Western medicine does not work for me and most medical professionals are arrogant know-it-alls.  Plus most drugs distributed in America will kill you rather than cure you. Poison in a bottle.  The side effects nearly killed me.

But back to the laughable athletics. When I was a kid and during my teenage years I was quite flexible. I could lay down on the floor and bend my legs behind my head.  The advance of arthritis has taken that superpower away. Just getting out of bed is an Olympic event for me. I usually miss at least one or two days every month from work due to physical pain.  It is just one of those things you must accept and adjust as a part of aging. Plus the type of work I do for a living contributes to the pain. However quitting or resigning is not an option so I will be living with the pain for the duration.

I do lots of walking mostly because I don’t drive and to keep the joints somewhat limber. The winter months are the worst for me since I’ve had my joints actually lock up. One of the many reasons to loathe and despise the cold freezing New York winters. However if all goes well this will be my last winter in the workforce. Hopefully if it’s God’s will and I can pay off all my bills or at least most of them I will retire and spend the winter indoors.

Hibernation is a good thing.

So if there is an Athletic even for sleeping, napping, resting, I would win the Olympic Gold Medal hands down! LOL!!  🙂   😀

Here is a picture of me in the barracks with a fellow soldier. As you can see I had a full head of thick dense full hair. No eyeglasses. No health problems. Cute. Good-looking.

No I don’t remember his name but you can see that I was young, pretty and had lots of attention from men. All that is now reversed!! My how times change!!