Choices

For various reasons, some serious, some not, both my parents spend a lot of time in hospitals and at doctors' offices. Maybe it's like that for the majority of older people, but it's become glaringly obvious to me that choices earlier in life have a huge impact on our later years. And yes, I *know* nothing's guaranteed in life. You could do everything right and still face devastating health issues. I grapple with that every day when I look at my daughter.

But I do know that, given two paths, why wouldn't you choose the one that's more likely to tip the odds in your favor down the road? Nothing appeals to me as much as having good health. I hate illness and hospitals. DD18's illness took its toll on me, and motivated me to make drastic changes in my lifestyle, as well as our family's. Sure, we all indulgence in things not-so-good for us, but I think at this point we come back rapidly to what is good. I think it's taken root in the kids. The challenge now is to make sure good habits stay ingrained, so that when they leave the house they will recognize they have choices, and hopefully choose the better ones most of the time.

We will all spend some time in the hospital at some point. But wouldn't it be great if that time were for things like knee replacements from overuse (exercise) rather than the results of a lifetime of bad choices.