Mama On: Good Health

"Health is like money. Spend it wisely -- there are no refunds."

That my mother even said this is ironic. My mother endured chronic high blood pressure, and was a heart attack and stroke victim. She passed 10 days before her 57th birthday, and once told me that her first heart attack surpassed any pain she'd ever had or imagined, and she never wanted that for me.

Maybe as a reflex reaction, my life and career paths took extreme detours. A psychology major, working in social service, her words took root in my soul and led to a major career change. I stepped away from my caseworker's desk and sought certification as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer. The difference, for me, was more than one of dollars and cents, and measurable in more than calories and pounds.

The Mamaknologist wisdom is this: Good health is worth more than its weight in gold -- keep it for as long as you can. As a Mamaknologist, you know that if you aren't good for yourself, you can't be good for anyone else. You also know that everything that's good to you is not good for you. The thought you probably have not had (and that my mother would encourage) is that taking care of your health is an investment in your life and the quality of life that you will share with others.

So, as a Mamaknologist who knows her true worth, what are you going to do? How about letting your level of flexibility affect your joints as much as it does your decisions. Enjoy variety that affects your diet as completely as it does your wardrobe. Endurance of a problem never resolves it -- see your doctor and do the maintenance your body requires, and live the life that you deserve. Think of it this way: if health is like money, all it takes is the investment of small change(s) to keep it. My mother, the Ultimate Mamaknologist, would want that for you.

Spending your life as a person of quality requires respect -- respect of mind, body, and spirit.