Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise #1

If I remember correctly, that old statesman from Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin once made a little saying:  Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.  Well so far I have done the former two but have not accomplished the last three, by any measure that the popular world would acknowledge.

Nearly every night I am in bed no later than 9 PM and many nights lots earlier.  Most mornings I am awake by 5 AM but usually much earlier...3 or 4 AM.  I am not feeling the health, wealth, or wisdom.  Having said that, we have a comfy dry roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, a chair and a couch to rest on, plenty of good food available, clear water to drink, and money to pay our bills.  I guess by most measures that would be considered wealth, so we will take that off the table.

Healthy, on the other hand, is something I want to embrace.  It is a new month.  Prior to General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which took place in Salt Lake City, Utah on 31 March and 1 April (Easter weekend, the most glorious weekend of the year) I prayed about some questions that I had regarding health and the wisdom part.  The brother who offered the very first prayer asked Heavenly Father that "those who came to the Conference seeking answers to their questions would have them realized.)  I was so grateful for that prayer and was filled with hope that my questions would be answered.

In actuality, the two questions I had in my heart were not the ones that were answered at this Conference, but other questions that I had buried deep down in my heart because I had almost given up on finding answers, well, those question WERE answered.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who hears us, listens to us, and then responds at the time we need the answers.

So, what is this all about?  I have been trying to swim early in the mornings.  Lately I have been waking up and 2 and 3 o'clock which makes me worry that I will not be able to perform all my responsibilities at the office if I get up, work on Spanish, clean house, iron, or go swimming.  Over the last three months I have averaged one day a week, perhaps just a little more.  Not good.  Better than no days a week.

This weekend I realized that the pool in our complex, the one where a duck couple comes every afternoon to swim around and quack quietly to themselves, is available every day.  There is a nice big hot tub right beside the pool.  After General Conference it came to me that I can go there to swim in the pool and then warm up in the hot tub...the pool not being a heated pool.

On Friday the new bathing suit I ordered almost a month ago finally arrived.  That, along with the inspiration for Conference, got me off dead center and into that suit when we arrived home from the office.  Down the stairs I went, walking around on the sidewalk instead of the doggy grass, unlocked the gate, went into the pool enclosure, removed my long flannel shirt and glasses and walked over to the steps into the pool.

One step down into the pool.  I stood there for perhaps fifteen seconds.  Probably less.  The water was perhaps fifty degrees F.  I stepped back out onto terra firma and progressed over to the hot tub.  Because I was alone I was able to do many exercises which I did for at least ten minutes.  Not by any stretch could you call it swimming, but I did keep the body in motion without stopping for that time. Next time I will ask Dear One to be my time keeper and come out onto our porch to tell me the time.

It does not sound like much, and it is NOT much, but it makes my heart glad to have done a little bit of water work.  AND the cool thing is that the duck mom came to the pool...though she was unpleasantly surprised by the fushia-garbed creature in the hot tub, and she barely touched down on the surface of the pool before she took off again.

Hopefully I will have some better healthy news by the next time I write.