Learning the difference between living and having quality of life took me quite a few years after I retired from full-time work.
It’s been a tough month for those of us who live on the coast, two of the old identities passed away in quick succession. One saving grace I suppose is that they did so suddenly and peacefully but that was little consolation to grieving families and close friends. Both of those blokes were my mates. We have known each other for over fifty years and shared good times and bad. Both were aged 70 or just over and had been stricken with various ailments over the past decade, but nothing that seemed life threatening at the time. Both had been hard workers in their younger days, were reasonably fit and healthy in their retirement, and then – boom. Gone.
And I and others of a similar demographic are left sitting there wondering who would be next. So I figured it was best not to die wondering and I set off to get a medical check-up at the local clinic. Living at the end of the Bay means a lengthy drive into the nearest town but that was easier and less stressful than confirming the medical appointment – “might fit you in about two weeks from now” was the message. I was glad I was not urgently in need of treatment – the closest hospital is over two hours away and their emergency department routinely has 8 to 12 hour waiting times.
But I persevered and obtained an appointment to sit down with an earnest young technician who hooked me up to a bundle of wires leading into a small white machine linked to a laptop computer. He pumped up the cuff around my upper arm – I breathed steadily – the machine emitted a few beeps and the laptop screen lit up with bar graphs and the like. After ten minutes of that carry-on the technician announced that unfortunately I have a problem and need to see a doctor immediately. It was my brachial blood pressure – too high he said. He also gave me a polite lecture about the need for more frequent aerobic exercise and a recommendation that I should eat five or six fish meals each week. It’s all about the omega-3 apparently. That is good stuff for our hearts.
There is always plenty of work to do around my bach and I reckon I am doing a reasonable amount of aerobic exercise most weeks, but the big challenge might be keeping up with half a dozen meals of fish. I like mine fresh from the ocean and the way the sea has been recently there has been no chance to get a hook or a net in the water. But I do have a big jar of triple strength omega-3 capsules and I suppose I can cut right back on the sugar and salt if it means I get a few more quality of life years. I have been off bread for ages now because I used to be a glutton for hot crisp toast slathered with vegemite and jam and I was starting to look like Buddha for a while there. Eat a little but often is the new approach, supplemented by no bread, no cakes (yes, it’s hard to resist temptation), more modest consumption of alcohol, and a decent walk along the beach at least three or four times a week.
We should all focus on quality of life because it is good for body, mind and spirit. To keep doing what you enjoy, be it travel, fishing, or even gardening you need to look after yourself. When I was a young kid I saw a sign on the side of a building which read “What You Eat Today Walks and Talks Tomorrow”. I took that to heart and maybe it is one reason why in my old age mine is still beating.
