With each passing year and story after story about people whose health is declining, activities and food for health and nutrition have to be a lifestyle. In bygone years this would have been a lot about appearance, what size I can shop on the clothing rack, the number on the scale, and whether the jeans I bought two years ago still fit. I wouldn’t be truthful if I said these are of NO importance in my life, but I would be positively  honest when I say they are NO longer the driving force.

I started this blog primarily to discuss the sunshine and waves I experience with regard to being healthy- and having balance with mind, body, and soul.  The sunshine represents those moments, days, or weeks when I’m on a roll in these areas.  (Weeks is a stretch!)  I enjoy sedentary activities and decadent desserts! Given a choice between waking up on Sunday morning and relaxing with a book and a cup of French roast or lacing up my running shoes, the couch and coffee would win.  Sometimes I’d rather skip a session at the gym in favor of scrolling through Pinterest.

This summer I started a list of activities I enjoy that require being healthy.  My Irish vacation was filled with climbing stairs, lots of walking (often on uneven surfaces-think cobble stones and rocky beaches), lugging suitcases up down, and all around. Restrooms were often in the basement where the only route is through a narrow/steep staircase. Walking through castles and strolling on the coast, sometimes the same scenario.  Aside from this vacation, camping required lifting our gear up and down into the trailer.  And a trip to a beautiful lighthouse near Pt. Reyes required an up hill climb.  Carrying laundry baskets, groceries, and working in the yard made the list too. And, while I’m in a unique relationship with running (I enjoy it. I despise it.),  I want to have what it takes to do it.

I often struggle with fitness-exercise and eating.  My main goal is to have more healthy days than not. This applies to both food and exercise. I have days of sunshine and days filled with waves.  I don’t berate myself (too badly) for poor choices, and somehow manage to get myself back on the successful track.

Fitness and health is so much about living the life you have in mind for yourself and doing the activities you want to do or hope to do in your future. I want to continue traveling, enjoying camping trips, running with fabulous friends, and household chores are inevitable. These require energy and strength. I want to be fit to ……… ! You get to fill in the blank.  And, you get to decide how to make it happen! It’s a journey, and we’re in for for a lifetime.

Slainte! Susan