This is a picture of Papa (My husband’s grandfather), my mother- in-law, my husband, and my son.  GENETICS IS REAL PEOPLE.  My entire pregnancy I joked that the baby may not be his.  God has an even better sense of humor than I do.

Papa lived to be 93 years old, got up every day, and drove himself to the Piggly Wiggly that he owned.  Supposedly, he gave it to his son and retired, but you wouldn’t know it by his daily schedule.  He was the most independent and active person I have ever met, and I didn’t meet him until his 90th Birthday Party.

Papa lived in a modest home, in a small town in Florida called Chipley.  Many of you whiz by it on your way to 30A, and probably do not even notice.  It is about 45 minutes South of Dothan, AL and an hour before you hit that gorgeous clear water and white sand.  Papa slipped on the steps one day, fell and just did not recover.  He did not get sick and he did not end up in hospice just fell and a few weeks later we lost him.  It was the only way he would have wanted to go, but for all the rest of us it was devastating.

We never know when we are going to go, but we have choices every day.  Choices in what we do with our time, what we eat, what we do with our money, and often these choices are linked.  The gym for example costs money and it takes time from your day to do a work out.  Binge watching netflix takes time, and is cheaper than the gym.  McDonalds is probably cheaper than the new poke bowl place, but making a salad at home and taking a walk aren’t too pricey, right?

Everything we choose to do effects the length and quality of our life.  “Sitting is the new smoking” – Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative.  The food we eat either fuels us or virtually poisons us, but we are a society of instant gratification.  I am just as guilty as everyone.  We want comfort and easy and happiness now with no thought to the effect later, but  later comes faster than we could ever believe.

The truth is not only is being unhealthy uncomfortable it is extremely expensive.  We are told over and over to save for retirement.   We imagine that retirement and believe we are saving for cruises, mountain homes, beach vacations with family, but if you are not taking care of yourself then you are saving for hospital bills, hospice care, in home nurses, wheel chairs, hip/knee replacements, the list is endless, and health care costs keep rising.  This is not even talking about the C word which is linked to stress & inflammation which all goes back to what we eat and how much we exercise.

We cannot even blame our parents and our genes any more.  Recently, Sir John B. Gurdon & Shinya Yamanaka developed new findings in epigenetics that won them a nobel prize.  They found that if we take care of ourselves even if we are born with “bad” genes we are able to switch those genes on and off!  Pretty cool stuff, at least worth trying.  It comes down to the saying, “You can invest in your health today or your sickness tomorrow.”

Don’t you want to be the grandma in the water?

My mother is truly amazing.  She works out with a trainer at least twice a week, she does yoga, and walks with my Dad, she was into tofu and gluten free in the 80’s, before it was cool, when you had to work to find it in a store.  She is 60 something going on 40 something.  Her next year plans include a mission trip to Uganda, a wedding in Dubai, a tour through Israel, and probably a whole bunch of stuff she forgot to tell me about, because she knows I want her to babysit my kids.  She likes cake and wine, but she knows she has to eat a salad too.  It is all about balance, not perfection.  Just start with one simple change.

My goal this month is to drink 100 oz of water per day.  Next month I will add something else in a year that is 12 new good habits.  I challenge you to pick a healthy change.  Feel free to comment below your goal.  (Did you know you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals when you write them down?)

All of this is within your control.  Just make one good choice at a time.

“Your health is your real wealth” – Mahtma Gahndi