April 4, 2020: Faith, family, food, fitness...and flat

How to succeed in a time of chaos? With a little thought, five words explain it. First faith, without which I am not sure what I would do. I believe that there is a larger purpose to life than the near selfish pursuit of personal pleasure, convenience and comfort. As a Catholic, I believe in the basic values and teachings of the church, despite that fidelity being challenged by the church's sex scandals. I believe in the basics, the fundamentals and accept that the leaders are human, sometimes misguided, and that the words of the bible can be misinterpreted or over interpreted. In any case, following the basic tenets of Catholicism not only comforts me, it gives me confidence.

Second, family. Gathered together once again as we have been for the past two weeks reminds me just how much the three women in my family mean to me. My role has always been to provide and to pray for them. Now it includes a greater sense of need to protect them, and not the way I would need to when they were much younger.

Third, food. Not in the epicurean, gluttony fashion, but rather this calamity has reaffirmed a better of appreciation good nutrition, using food as a building block for better health rather than as a source of escape or abuse. Less junk, less meat, more vegetables, more greens. Little to no alcohol, ease up a little on the full dairy and carbs. Chocolate remains essential, yet in moderation, small portions.

Fourth, fitness. So many of the things that have combined with the virus and people over 65 reflect past lifestyle choices that include many bad food choices (see above) but also a lack of exercise, just basic exercise, as little as a twenty-minute walk three-to-five times a week. Even with the bad Wisconsin weather I have been able to manage 30-40 minutes, primarily of walking, every day. Of late, it is over 45 minutes a day. What used to be 2 to 2.5 miles a day is now often well over three miles, sometimes four, like today when I walked in from three miles east on Schmidt and then finished off with another 1.5 miles around the neighborhood.

Fifth -- since I love alliteration, especially with the letter 'f' -- flat. My walks benefit from a near perfect flatness, with only the rare small rise to challenge me. I used to be a good hill runner, in my younger, lighter years. For now I am much more the tortoise -- and I was never a hare.