It’s been a crazy week for me, and that’s a big reason why you haven’t heard from me till today this week.
My grandpa is 99 years old and turns 100 in September… Although we don’t think he’ll make it that far.
In fact, I think these are his last days, and so I’ve been spending just about every last minute I have down with him.
It’s an interesting thing how being close to a loved one near the end can really change our perspective on life.
It helps clear up what’s important and what’s not.
And ironically, it also literally made me so appreciative of the shape I keep myself in.
He lives in an old folks home and has been in really great shape up until the last couple months. We’ve been waiting for a room in the assisted living area to open up, but none has.
Sunday, I was alone with him in his room in the evening. He needed to go to the bathroom, which up until now he had been able to do.
I helped him out of bed slowly and get to his walker and half-carried him as we made our way to the bathroom.
Something I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with if I wasn’t in shape, I might add.
As we got there and I got him on the toilet, I think the movement was too much for him.
He must have gone unconscious because he went limp and wasn’t responding at all.
I have to say, I was scared. I thought those were his final moments… And I had just put him on the toilet where he’d take his last breaths. I’ll say he didn’t die there, and I can now laugh at the comedy of it all.
I lifted him up and carried his limp body — if you have ever had to move someone passed out, you know this isn’t easy — back to his bed to lay him down, check for a pulse, and hold him in my loving arms.
Fortunately, he woke up. And he is still alive for the time being.
But it struck me that the situation would have gone so differently if I hadn’t been taking care of myself for the last 10 years.
And I am so thankful I have kept my body in shape. So I could help him, and so maybe, if I’m lucky, I can make it to 99 also.
You never know when you’ll need to be in shape to help yourself or someone you love. And the confidence you get from being capable makes living so much better.
Take a moment if you read this far. Call someone you love and tell them that because you don’t have forever.
Reid
