By Rachel Langston
I know that Valentine’s Day is still a few weeks away and “American Heart Month” doesn’t officially start until February. We celebrate a little early at our house, though, because we have a heart anniversary that is worth noting!
January 22, 2005 was the day that my, then 39 year old husband, had a heart major attack. It came without warning and with no obvious family history or risk factors. Because of my husband’s attention to his symptoms and his recognition that he was likely having a heart attack, he is alive to celebrate today – the 2 yr. anniversary of good health SINCE his heart attack.
I am not an alarmist, but I have become a believer in education about health issues and doing whatever we can to make ourselves healthier. Because of his heart attack, our family has made some changes. None of them are drastic and, hopefully, all of them will make all of us just a little healthier in the long run.
I encourage you to take just a few minutes today to think about your heart. If it is healthy, give thanks. If it is not, commit to doing what you can to start making it healthier.
Here are a few places to get you started on finding some good information…
http://www.americanheart.org
http://www.heartinfo.org/
http://www.health-heart.org/
http://www.pelinks4u.org/articles/bonello/020103HappyHeartInteractive.htm
http://www.happyheart.com/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2000/006/4.80.html
by Rachel Langston
I don’t like to exercise! That is not to say that I don’t like anything physical. I do enjoy playing tennis and swimming and playing basketball (even if I don’t do any of those things very often). I just don’t like the idea of having to do physical things and call it exercise. I would rather think that I am playing a game and getting some physical benefit at the same time. The idea of an organized “work out” makes me crazy. I would almost rather cook or clean house! If you know me or if you have ever been to my house, you know that those things don’t happen very regularly either.
Anyway, I recently recommitted myself to regular exercise. There were a number of reasons for that not the least of which is becoming healthier. So, I worked on my attitude about exercise and decided that it was finally time to do this, even if and when I didn’t want to.
I have been at this since mid-November. I have missed some days but, overall, I have exercised more days than I have missed and I count that as a huge accomplishment. Imagine my surprise when, this past Monday, I realized that the gym was closed for the MLK Holiday and I was upset because that meant I couldn’t go exercise. I think my husband thought that he had come home to the wrong house!
It is not that I like the actual activity (walking, stationary bike, etc.) so much. In fact, I really don’t like to sweat if I can keep from it. What I like, though, is that I gain a sense of having done something when I am finished. It means that I have made a good choice for that day and I have made myself just a little bit healthier, stronger, energetic, etc. Tommorrow, I have to face that same choice all over again. Having made a good choice the day before gives me a little advantage to make the same good choice again.
My husband (a diligent exerciser) has done a great job of not rubbing my face in this, but, truly, there is none more surprised than I!
Copyright, RPL Communications, 2007
