Leeuveltiertert

I recently read this new book by Lionel Shriver who you might remember for “We need to talk about, Kevin”, one of my best reads in a long time.  And it set me thinking about the “why?” of exercise. In the book the wife character is now 60 and has exercised her whole life, it’s been her thing!  Solo, long before it became fashionable, she did it all and strong.  Now her knees are troubling her, and she is in denial about the op she is facing.  Her husband has never broken a sweat, but suddenly finds himself retrenched…and decides to run a marathon!  He is full of bluster about his new hobby and she is resentful, making for acerbic marital drama.  To cut a long story short, he completes the marathon, coming stone last and nearly dies…and just as his wife thinks that their lives and relationship can go back to normal, he announces that he wants to do an Iron Man!  [...]

My husband and I had a simple supper of lentil soup and sourdough bread before sunset last night, because today we will #fast until after sunset. I’ve been reflecting on the consistency across religious traditions of the relationship between spirituality and fasting (or a withholding or restriction for a period.)  And I’ve been wondering if the gods/spirits/ancients weren’t onto something in building these periods of abstinence into our religious laws and traditions… There is more and more evidence showing that regular periods of fasting have many health benefits.  If broadly speaking religious fasting is about repenting, renewing and recommitting yourself to your spiritual path, it seems that the body and mind mimics this too. I have never fasted before for religious reasons. I thought it was completely daft as there would be nothing like depriving me of food all day to make me obsess about food all day instead of thinking about whatever I should be thinking about! But as I become #olderandbolder I see [...]

This is my favourite picture of my mother-in-law, Shirley!  She came teetering out of her bedroom and headed for the pool.  We all jumped up to help because, just shy of 90, she was prone to falling. “Wait Ma! We’ll help you down the steps into the pool, YOU’RE GOING TO FALL!” “Leave me”, she said.  “I’m going to dive in the deep end!” And she did.  No problem.  If you can’t use the steps anymore, dive in the deep end.  There is always a way…and I often ask myself, “What would Shirley do?” She died, aged 95, Monday a week ago, a role model of what being older & bolder is all about! In the Jewish tradition one has to be buried as soon as possible, but we had to wait for her to be returned from Israel to South Africa. So, her funeral is today, followed by a week of mourning.