80 Years Young
About a week and a half ago I went into the hospital with lower abdomen pain and chills for a possible appendicitis.
On my way to the hospital my Uber driver told me that he had gone to the emergency room twice previously for what he thought was an appendicitis. It turned out to be stomach aches from all the hash browns he had eaten that week.
My stomach ache turned out to be of the appendicitis variety rather than the oily foods variety. I am recovering now from the surgery and doing my best to take it easy.
I’m so grateful for caring friends (you know who you are) and the level of care that is possible where I live!
2020, amirite?
I am doing well but as I heal I am missing the level of movement and activity that is a regular part of my life. Movement is my favorite way to play and it keeps me happy and engaged.
You can imagine I was SUPER excited to come across this gem of a human a few months ago:
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This is 80 year old (!!) Stephen Jepson, creator of Never Leave the Playground, and he is an advocate for lifelong fitness and play. He can do tricks that I dream of doing (someday!).
He speaks and teaches on movement as a tool to train your brain so that if you trip and fall (something millions of seniors do every year to scary consequences) you are able to recover and catch yourself.
In fact, he attributes his philosophy for helping him overcome a traumatic head injury from an accident just a couple years ago as a 78 year old.
In our culture I see physical activity as a thing that is separate from the rest of our lives or as just a means to look good naked (although nothing wrong with that!).
I want to see physical activity/movement talked about as a lifestyle and towards the long-term sustainability of your body and mind. Does anyone expect to still be doing Crossfit at age 75?
Rather than seeing fitness influencers take center stage what if we listened to people like Stephen more?
I am pretty aware of my body but these past couple weeks and this podcast episode helped me to realize to NEVER take my health and bodily abilities for granted.
Check out this episode of The Recess Life with Stephen. Here are the other places you can find it:
Check it out and then go and play in that beautiful body of yours!
PS. Are you following me on Instagram yet? I’m at @therecesslife and would love to connect with you there!
PPS. This episode of Brene Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us talks about her relationship to play and how she sees it as an energy source to cope with what’s going on in our world right now. It’s so validating to have a big thought leader like Brené talk about play, haha. Check it out!
PPS. This New York Times article is all about why laughter is so important in these trying times right now. May I suggest the SNL cold open from this past week to help with that?
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