An eye-opening day...

It's true, most of the time I try to take good care of my health by getting out and walking and even, admittedly not as often as I could, jogging. Well today an email from our HR director arrived. It seems a woman, whom I have never met, passed away due to complications of diabetes. Apparently she worked with us. Granted I don't know every person in the office, but there are names I know without knowing the faces. Well, it seems Sarah did work with us. I suspect she must have been one of the recent new-hire class. It was very sad to read that email and has me rethinking my own health plans. Although I do get out almost daily, I have to admit for the last few days I have had some outstanding excuses not to.

Now seriously, I don't have diabetes, but I have a brother and niece who do. I also had a father with heart disease and same brother, too, has heart disease. Hmmm...

I have been thinking lately that I really need to stop with the excuses and just get out there. Ironically the email came after I had contacted our personal trainer and requested a list of this month's gym classes. Now I know there can be no further excuses to get back out there to the gym and get on with it! It's free for goodness sakes! It's just so easy to sit here in the comfort and warmth of my home and enjoy my knitting, but seriously, if I don't start taking my own health to a higher level of commitment...well, I'd rather not think of the consequences. Besides, my knitting is just as enjoyable in the evenings, right?

With that said, I am making a solid commitment to myself and from this moment forward have cut out all sugar in my diet and replaced it with other healthy snack choices. I am already a vegetarian so the rest is easy.

Why is it that we feel compelled to finally do something for ourselves only when something like this happens to a complete stranger? But then again, she wasn't just a complete stranger, was she? She was someone's daughter, someone's family member, and I'm sure they are missing her very much right now...