The Dog Days of Summer

Ahh....the dog days of summer. When there is nothing to do but lounge in the water with your favorite people and canines. Yesterday was quite warm so we took to the beach for an afternoon of relaxation. Last summer Piper was terrified of the water. She would run from waves as they hit the beach. She never got her paws yet except for the one time in which she fell off the dock. Most of this summer it has been the same although she would walk in the water, getting just her paws yet. Yesterday we had a breakthrough. We weren't able to get the 'Mother Ship' all the way up the beach and the water was about 6 inches deep at the end of the ladder. When torn with the need to go through water to go potty or stay on the boat, she opted to get off. OK...she needed some encouragement. But then she discovered how much fun it was and spent the rest of the afternoon splashing through the water and playing with Kaja. I don't think she will ever be a recreational swimmer like our Kaja is but she did discover the water is an enjoyable place to be on a warm afternoon.

50+

I am now closer to 100 than I am to the day I was born. That was pointed out to me by one of my ED co-workers...thanks.

I have receovered from my birthday angst and the melanoly feelings I had. It was a wonderfully quiet day...quite unlike what you would expect a Leo-woman would want. We spent the day on the boat, went up to Stillwater and had dinner at a great resturant~Nacho Mama's. I would have linked their webpage but I can't seem to find one for them. They have an interesting menu, good drinks and a pretty good beer list. Their patio is nice even though it is bordered by a street. It ws fun.

Since my birthday, well...actually all summer I have been thinking about the concept of normal. How many times I have said "when my life gets back to normal" I do whatever. So what is normal?

There are definately normals in healthcare: normal vital signs, normal x-rays, normal mammograms. While some of these things are absolutes (either positive or negative) most are still a range of what we consider usual or consistent for a given situation. When it comes to people and life situations, I am not sure there is a normal. Sure there are things that we do in the same way every single time we do them...I would suppose that is the closest thing we have to normal. When I look at my life, I am struck by how un-normal I am! I work unusual hours, live in Woodbury, have a giant dog. play hockey and don't generally, act like a 50-year-old.

So what is normal? Whatever we think it is on a given day. Ever changing and evolving...we redefine ourselves and our situations in light of what is going on in our world.

Normal. It is what I am...perhaps.

50

Today is my 50th Birthday.

I have never experienced sadness with a birthday before but today is difficult. 50 is a turning point. I cannot deny that I am now, middle-aged. I have to check a different box on forms. I am no longer "in my 40's". While women today are different than our mothers were when they turned 50, it still represents a half of a century. And I am not sure that I am "aged to perfection" but I liked the picture. In fact, I am no where close to perfection and thankfully, will never be.

I did some checking online to see if I could come up with an idea of how long I might live. I found this life expectancy calculator online and did it. According to my results, I can expect to live 88.62 years. This calculator is published by the University of Pennsylvania (a reputable agency) and asked questions about my family health history and some about mine but did not ask if I had a history of cancer...hmmmmm. Since this one did not ask very many questions about my personal health, I looked for another one and found a site call "Living to 100" and did theirs. According to them, my life expectancy is 85. According to the Centers for Disease Control (2007), my life expectancy is 77.8 years.

So, based on this information I have somewhere between 27.8 and 38.62 years of my life left. That doesn't seem like enough. What should I do with it?

I want to lose 12 pounds, engage in regular physical activity, drink less and eat better, and live debt-free. This sounds a bit like making New Year's resolutions and we all know how that goes. Perhaps my effort should be aimed at just being myself for another 27.8-38.62 years. I will try to be a bit nicer and I would like to travel more and retire. But aside from that...

I think I will head to the back deck of the boat to sit in the sun (without sunscreen) with a plate of chips and cheese and an icy cold beer...Happy Birthday to me.

References

Centers for Disease Control (2007). Life expectancy. Retrieved August 5, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm

Foster, D., Chua, C. and Ungar, L. (n.d.) How long will I live? Retrieved August 5, 2008 from http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/