The Check Engine Light

About 48 or so hours ago, I was in pretty rough shape. A bug (I'm unsure if it was food poisoning or an actual virus) had brought me to my knees and I was violently ill. Twice. I'll spare you any further details; but I spent the vast majority of the following day flat on my back, sweating, sleeping, and feeling like I was dying. I was completely void of energy and entirely weak. Which, if have ever met me, you would know how much it takes for me to even sit for long periods of time.

So, in short, I was once again reminded of an irrefutable fact: I'm mortal.

Pair this with the health scare I had last year and the return of the spontaneous migraines and that means the little yellow light on my health's dashboard is starting to light up. And, believe it or not, I do actually listen to the cues my body gives me when something is up. I may not react in a timely fashion, but I do know when something starts to go wrong. For the most part, anyway.

Here's where the good news comes in: I'm going to be doing something about this. Many things, actually. The first is that I'm finally going to get back into my water regiment. Three liters a day is the goal. Second (and this will surprise more than a few of you) is that I'm going to start resting when I can. Letting my body and mind repair itself while I do nothing. It's going to be tough; but it's more than necessary. On the flip side, I'm also going to get back into biking and hiking. Soak up all the clean air in the woods and let the serenity of my environment envelope me. I may even get back into swimming (if I can find a pool).

And...I'm going to start going to the doctors. For check ups and maybe even blood work. Going to start taking my vitamins and medicine. I'm going to start treating my body like I'm only going to live once; and I need it to last as long as it can. I'm going to start taking care of myself and also letting others take care of me. As hard as that's going to be. I am nothing, if not stubborn...

I'm not old, by any means, but if I don't start taking care of myself, I never will be. And that is not a fate I chose to accept.