One thing many farmers and non-farmers share is the dread of the doctor visit.
About a year ago my blood pressure got a little too high and I went through all the tests and physicals. Yuck.
A year later I can tell you I am glad I went and listened. I modified my routine and today my blood pressure is back to normal for me, 110/70. I lost 8 pounds over the winter too, still too heavy but a lot better than I was. I didn't like how I looked and I knew I didn't feel my best.
That fear of change and looking at our mortality is frightening to say the least. It is tolerable when you are of sound mind and body but when you aren't, you don't make good decisions.
My dentist said one time you have a couple of white spots on your lower lip and you need to have them looked at. I did. They were precancerous and I had them taken off. Seemed like a big deal then but doesn't now. He said they were from my teen years and too much sun and I remember exactly when I had too much sun baling hay and swimming with my band members at Rocky Fork Lake.
My eye doctor said he saw those little spots inside my eyes that might indicate my body wasn't functioning normally which tied to the weight and blood pressure. The Chinese have a word for it that escapes me right now. It was another indicator so I listened and confirmed it and did something about it.
The body is a wonderful but almost mysterious organism in itself. When we aren't treating it right, it responds. Alittle change in the right direction though and it respons to that, too.
So I guess the message today is if you aren't feeling quite right, you know exactly what to do. The tools are out there to help us. You just have to commit to it if you want change for the good.
Farmers are coming upon our busy season and if we aren't up to par we are really going to suffer. The biggest thing is now for me is I have tendonitis in my elbows so bad I can't lift as much as I used to and I get tired quicker. I have had to hire help to get done what needs to be done and become more of a supervisor than the main laborer. That in itself is a big role change in running a business.
It got down to 28 degreed Fahrenheit last night so both stoves are burning. I will be glad when that is over but that means I will be outside more and won't take the time to keep this blogging up like I have the last two months. Maybe I will make it my early morning routine.
People ask me why I started one and I tell them it was time to share my life experiences as much for me as for any good one might get reading them. I have enjoyed this and now it is part of my history.
We all have a story to tell and this is one method I found to tell it that I enjoy.
I hope you are feeling good and enjoying what you are doing, too.
Have a great Sunday,
Ed Winkle
Enjoyed this post, Ed. I'm one of those "non-farmers" who have had several medical prblems decend upon me, within the past 10 years. Preventive medicine so important, especially as we start to age. Problems can creep up on us before we know it, especially with blood pressure and cholesterol. it's really important to get regular check-ups and to see a doctor, if you suspect that something "just aint right"!
ReplyDeleteFarming season is almost upon us. I'm having trouble adjusting. I spent several hours under my drill yesterday working on fertilizer tubes. What a pain. It was wet and cold here. Meaning 45 degrees. You would not even attempt to work, laying on the ground in an open shed in your neck of the woods.
ReplyDeleteI just got my webpro news in my email the other day. They say that blogging as past its peak. Major bloggers are quitting. I suppose it has to do with the reason one is blogging.
I had a blog for a couple years. I started right after my mother died. Was pretty frustrated and depressed with farming and used it as an outlet for angst and depression. I had a couple dedicated followers. After a year I made it public and started with google adsense. I made 50 bucks over the next year and a half. I got a little to personal. Family members found it and tensions arose. However, it was my expression of personal issues, along with some interesting farming stories that drew interest. In the end I pulled the plug and 2.5 years of blogging boiled off into the ether. I wish I would not have done that. I'm going to concentrate more on my no-till and farming stories and leave my personal life out of new blog. Both blogs used my internet name, Budd E. Shepherd so I guess I could still be found. I just have to remember that people you know really don't want to know what you think, they want to be assured that what you feel is what they think you should feel.
That has nothing to do with your post but I'll just leave it anyway.
I am glad I did what I did. I feel so much better but now I feel the aches and pains more than ever!
ReplyDeleteI thought hard and long before I typed my personal issues and worded it as carefully as I could. Still, I clearly see the possibilities you mention.
It is much safer to stick with non-personal issues but makes it more interesting for the writer and some readers. The perception of each reader is so different though.
Blogging is past it peak? And I just started! I am struggling what to write about today, nothing jumps out at me.
These are the best comments I have read yet.
I just hope we can all learn from each other.
Ed
In response to : buddeshepherd's "...have to remember that people you know really don't want to know what you think, they want to be assured that what you feel is what they think you should feel..." WOW! This astounds me! Because the people I know most always want to know what I think, and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I disagree with your conclusion about being personal. You CAN get personal, to a degree, in your posts, as long as you don't go overboard, and you keep it somewhat general. You can take it to the next level and learn from it. You said people you KNOW don't want to know what you think, maybe that's true in your case. But there are a whole lot of people out there, you DON'T KNOW who do want to know what you think!! I, for one. This is a public blog and lots of people will be reading it. And lots of people care what other people are thinking and feeling. I've learned through the years that you can't let what other people think control your actions.