September 26, 2011 10:55 AM

I'm so fortunate!

Why? Well, over the weekend I received updates about the conditions of two people that I know who suffer from serious diseases. One fellow is the husband of one of our choir members who is suffering with ataxia (this I didn't know) - a genetic debilitating disease that affects the muscles. For him, today is as good as it gets. The second person is a fellow bridge player who is suffering with brain cancer and has now been given only a month or two to live. How grateful I am to not be in either category.

Could I be better? Sure! But as I said before, I can basically do the things that I really want to do - although at a slower pace. Getting from point A to point B is usually the issue. We played cards Saturday night, choir still is a go on Thursday nights and Sunday morning, grandchildren's soccer games are always on the list, etc. However, my son has moved into a condo and moving furniture is not on my to do list. His muscular friends did a great job in that area. By the way, he is getting better. He no longer wears a knee brace and it is just a matter of doing physical therapy. Some of which he got by simply pushing himself to assist with the moving over the weekend.

I should also comment that I still continue to walk on the treadmill whenever I can for at least half an hour. There are many advantages to that over walking outside: you have something to hold onto, it's flat, you can stop at any time and you are at home, and the weather is always perfect.

I am pushing myself to do a small project that is to be a surprise for one of my granddaughters. It's amazing to think that a year ago it would have been a no-brainer - but I look for it to be a no-brainer next year. As long as I am here, I can fight the battle and there is no reason to have any doubt about that.

So much for my Monday morning start to the week...

Bob