Ah, living the life....
Physical therapy, athletics and coaching. Love it.
But I don’t practice sports medicine. I work in nursing homes.
Go figure.
My dad died in his early 60s from Alzheimer’s disease. A few times his sickness brought him to nursing homes when my mom couldn’t take care of him. To my amazement, she always took him back home.
While we visited, I saw how he was treated. He wasn’t regarded as someone’s husband, brother, or father. That’s how we saw him. To them he was just another person in a bed to take care of. There were a few exceptional angels that worked there, but only a few.
Those who work in nursing homes aren’t bad people. Many of them are wonderful. They just can’t escape being understaffed, underpaid, overworked, and under appreciated for the amount of work they do. This is a recipe for burnout.
And burnt out they are.
At the time I was in outpatient therapy, but after this experience, I knew someday I would work in a nursing home. Treating everyone as if they were my dad.
I also work in nursing homes to see the writing on the wall. If I’m lucky, I’ll get this old. Will I end up in a nursing home? Or will I still have the freedom to enjoy life?
These two options are total opposites.
People living in nursing homes are NOT enjoying life. The overwhelming theme is being miserable. Their lives end like your favorite ice cream melting on the floor. It’s slow and painful to watch. This fact may upset you, but I’m not wrong.
Being around this everyday gives me the moxie and determination not to end up there. It works for me.
The big question is, what’s working for you? As 2nd 50s, are we thinking about the direction of our lives enough? Life is happening, and life is change. Are we actively guiding our future, or have we handed over the controls to chance?
I’ve seen chance, it doesn’t care about us.
If we’re doing nothing, then we’ll end up with nothing, in a strange room, with a strange roommate, slowly melting away.
Not wanting this to happen is not enough. Action is required.
Sustained action.
Like being in a boat with a slow leak, we can stay afloat for a long time with limited use of a bucket. But ignore the leak, and we are undeniably sinking.
Entering our 2nd 50 years, we start to feel this effect of the slow leak. Aches and pains, less spring in our step, easy things getting difficult.
But we’re still plenty above water, and life keeps us looking at the view instead of the boat.
Using our bucket two or three times a week will keep us sailing to exciting shores for many years to come. Throwing water isn’t glamorous. It takes some effort, but it works like magic.
Our bucket, my friend, is strength training.
Get strong as hell,
Coach Ken