He's Fine.

I began thinking about my vows on the bike ride in this morning. One of the things I hope to do for Zach is to be healthy. I promise him that I will take care of myself physically and mentally so that I can be around as long as possible for and with him. This idea isn't a new one to me, but this morning it had particular importance because this morning at 7:30 I got a call from my Mom saying that while everything was fine, Dad was in the hospital.

Dad threw out his back two weekends ago. Then Saturday he did it again. Just by bending over. Nothing more. And this is the insidious thing about a pulled back. So Mom plopped him down in the guest room with a book and a remote control.

This morning Dad tried to get up for his usual routine and around 6:30 I guess he told Mom that he was blacking out. She said he was holding his chest and his eyes were rolling up back in his head. She called an ambulance and when I got the 7:30 call, she was at the hospital. I guess he's in serious pain but can still crack totally stupid jokes. (Ah Dad.)

After she got home around 9am, the hospital called and said they want to keep him for 24 hours to watch his heart. It wasn't a heart attack as far as I know (it was probably severe pain and dehydration) but I guess it's always a little irregular and since he's there, they want to keep an eye on him.

So what does this have to do with health? My dad isn't healthy. Genetics (and testosterone) have been good to him and only in the last 5-7 years has he really had to watch his weight. He doesn't understand the real reason to eat a vegetable. (Even I'm fairly new to this form of thinking.) Health doesn't actually have anything to do with size. Health has to do with health. Sometimes size may make a comment about health, but health is still it's own thing. You can be skinny and still unhealthy.

Dad is no longer skinny, but he's not as heavy as he should be for how he treats his body. He's hard on it. He physically works like a mad man for 8 hour days during the weekends, but then sits at a computer the rest of the week. He eats peanut butter and tater tots for meals. He drinks just a little too much beer.

I love peanut butter and beer. But unlike my Dad I'm not going to fight my partner when they suggest I eat a green bean. Marriage is about commitments, and one of them is the physical. We get so wrapped up in the vanity of our bodies. "I hope I don't grow fat so that you still find me desirable" or some other crap. It should be, "I promise to try and eat real meals with real nutrients so we have the best odds possible at longevity."

Health is hard. It's really fucking hard. But work on it not to fit some ideal, but because you owe it to your friends and family. I owe it to my friends and family. Who knows if this is a wake up call for Dad. However, it may be part of my wake up call.