A big part of my push to lose weight and gain fitness was watching my Mom age. She has been overweight her whole life. Developed a bad back. “Couldn’t exercise.” Then bad knees. Then flew to see us and her back was sore. So she sat for a week in a chair treating us both like waiters, “Can you bring me a cup of coffee? A sandwich?” Etc. Then on the flight home, a pulmonary embolus. And now blood thinners complicating lots of things- medical care, what she eats and drinks. Then too much use of a cane leads to a shoulder injury. Now with her forward-leaning posture (from her back) and her osteoporosis, shes developing a hunchback, shrank 5 inches (a lot of this is postural). More forward leaning posture, increasing her risk of a fall. Mobility is declining. She’s a big woman, not going to be easy to care for her if she can’t do for herself.

So there’s that everyday QOL stuff but also logistical stuff. We travel quite a bit but have little interest in a sedentary vacation. Too many stairs, too far of a distance from the door of our lodging to whatever- the car, the beach, the resort pool, visiting a city which requires walking, even Disneyworld, all of that stuff is out because she can’t walk, stand or sit too long, so we essentially can’t invite her to travel with us.

People have a lot of trouble seeing stuff coming and heading it off at the pass. I’m sure I’ll go through a lot of the same stuff, but I’m doing what I can to mitigate the effects of my genes- managing weight, developing CV fitness, stretching, core and limb strength. I just hope to age well and enjoy life as much as I can.