Taking stock

1961 marks the year i was born, which makes me 50 come september.  half a century under my belt, with husband, children & a good life, alhamdulillah i am so blessed.

But where did the years go? i dont want to sound like a person in denial but really, it just doesnt feel as if 50 years have passed me by. wasnt it only yesterday i was pulling prank after prank on my classmates.. only yesterday that i left family & friends to start my married life in a strange land, only yesterday we were clueless parents raising kids with medical problems, only yesterday my body was free of aches & pain lol.  oh and lets not forget the stranger that stares back at me each time i pass by a mirror.  sca-ry i tell ya.

With my mates back in semsas circa 1976

With golfman in new hampshire circa 1984

With kiddoes in melbourne circa 1995

Still it would be stupid of me NOT to take stock of all the changes that have occured through the years.  knowledge is power and the same applies to self awareness.  we empower ourselves with self knowledge.. to at least maximise strengths, minimise weaknesses.  as the age pile up,  we'd need all the help we can get lol.

In trying to keep myself fit & healthy,  i've remained 'connected' or should i say, very much in tune with my body and it helps to keep track of the changes. what was easy peasy before could take quite a toll on us now. these days i dont skip warm ups and cool downs bcos i know i'd have to pay for it later.. trust me aching muscles, crick necks, tender knees arent fun at all.

Everyone who knows me know that i love running & jumping about like a mad monkey lol but i do have to be mindful of the impact i put on my creaky joints.  it would be irresponsible of us not to respect the years that we have put on. i keep telling friends, we need to push ourselves so as not to stagnate but we dont need to punish ourselves either. finding a balance is crucial but thats easier said than done lol.

With the 'weekend warriors' in genting last year.

Yours truly right there in the middle hehehe.

Theres much we can do to help with our bodies' predisposition to the diseases programmed by our genetic codes....  even if we cant do away with it altogether, we can at the very least delay it.  my late father and each of his siblings suffer the fate of diabetes, and my maternal side has a strong tendency towards rheumatoid athritis.  so far i've managed to sidestep the primary list of modern day afflictions - diabetes, hypertension, high cholestrol, the big c.  alhamdulillah the comprehensive health screening i did last year came back with better results than i'd expected.

Still, when i wake up every morning i have proof that my joints are working against me. that rheumatoid athritis thingy is already rearing its ugly head.  and with menopause just round the corner, the going will only be getting tougher. but, it helps that my body's still functioning as it should be.  not that we can totally escape what mother nature intended but we shouldnt leave too much to chance.

So friends.. lets keep moving our butts k hehehe.  being physically active not only keeps us fit & healthy, it helps spiritually too.  nothing like an alert mind to help us decipher the message of the Lord.

Its january february (already?) and i'm setting up a base reference for the year. you do the same ;p

Age - 50 yrs
Height - 157 cm
Weight - 48 kg 
BMI - 19.5