First of all, go here. I know in my case, Miranda is right on the money. Writing my thesis made me into an overwrought, inflated-sentence writing machine. Well, that, and reading all the Victorian lit, which is a whole ‘nother bad writing problem. Anyway, an interesting idea.
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Also, look at this. Alternate universe me, Cath Schaffer, talks about why writers are essentially mad. Mad, I tell you! She makes some interesting points.
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So…I went to the doctor yesterday. I have a sinus infection, although thanks to the magic neti pot, only I can see the evidence of it. Lovin’ me my neti pot! Anyway, now I have some nasty antibiotics that make everything I eat taste on the wretched side.
Like any good patient, I also spent some time asking my doctor questions about a few other things that had been bothering me. As we age (45!), we tend to have more questions. What did I ask?
Q: Can I have the handouts for the plantar fasciitis stretches, since you know, exercise and all that?
A: Certainly! Stretch when you get up and before you go to bed. Also, don’t be afraid to ice it, or use jets on it.
Q: What about my weight? I’ve been eating healthily and exercising regularly, and I’m not losing. What can I do?
The answer might surprise you.
A: If you are eating healthily and exercising, you might be where you’re going to be. You may have to accept that this weight is your new weight. The trick is to make sure you’re eating healthily and keeping up on the exercise so your cholesterol stays low and your heart stays healthy.
This is the first time a doctor has ever suggested to me that I should be overweight. The caveat here is that I have to focus on being healthy at any weight. I eat lots of veggies, so if I’m doing what I’m supposed to, and this is what I get, I have to make peace with that.
Must….fight…YEARS…of cultural negativity and conditioning!!!
That said, if this is what it means to be myself, aging, I’ll just have to work on being the most beautiful woman I can be. I can deal. What I thought was very interesting is that the popular idea of being thin at any price because your health demands it was just set on its ear. My doctor recognizes that I’m doing what I can, and she doesn’t want me to starve myself. Well, all right.
The last question I’d rather not go into detail about, but I can suggest that a male doctor must have named vaginal atrophy, which is the most unflattering term I’ve ever heard for illness!
The question remains: am I peri-menopausal or post-menopausal? That’s something I’ll try to get sussed out with my specialist during that annual time of the year.
As I get older, I suspect that I will be encountering more interesting revelations. Bring them on! I hope to spend a long time as an old woman.
Catherine
Thanks for the link love, alternate universe me!
Neti pots are awesome. I was trying to describe it to someone on a teleconference for work. You know, “Little teapot, you fill it with salt water…blah blah blah…pour it in your nose.” He said, “You lost me at ‘pour it in your nose.'” Yeah, it’s a tough sell.
I’m healing up from some PF last summer, and I have to say that in addition to stretching, staying off your feet seems like the best way to turn it around. So many people try to keep running/walking through it, and as far as I can tell, they just extend the pain.
I am also working on accepting where I am. I think some of the extra weight I’m carrying is from some accumulated stress, and I have come to believe that the best way to deal with it is to stop dieting and just take care of my body as best I can. Radical!
I plan to write my own version of what you said, alternate universe me, when I have a moment. Which is not today.
I too continue my love affair with the neti pot. I do not exaggerate much when I say it changed my life. I haven’t missed a day of work since I started using it April, and even this go around with sinusitis is much less painful than the usual nose blowing drainage horrible thing that’s usually going on.
I’ve had plantar before. I really have a hard time staying off my feet as a teacher, but I will make an effort to work my feet less while I’m on vacation.
You know, we may have to admit that genetics play a role in our weight, whether society wants us to or not…
Catherine
Oh, you’re a teacher? I’ll bet not only are you on your feet a lot as you work, but you have to stand on those horrible concrete floors. Just spending an hour shopping at the grocery store can send my feet into a flare up. Ouch!