A Day In The Life

I am not a morning person, never have been (well, maybe fifty years ago), and never will be. I need time to swing my legs out of bed. I have to lie motionless for a few minutes and make a mental commitment to the act of propelling myself upright.

These days it's something of an arduous affair due to a variety of aching joints, one of the benefits of getting old. It can be even worse if I have a sudden attack of cramps like I had this morning. As I gently stretched my left leg it suddenly went into an incredibly painful spasm. Fortunately, I do not get cramps too often. I am somewhat intrigued as to what exactly causes it though.

This morning I cried out in agony as the lower part of my leg locked up, from behind the knee all the way down to my ankle. This time, it even spread right across the top of my left foot. My wife came running and started to massage the leg until it eased off enough for me to sit up. Then as suddenly as it came, lord be praised, it disappeared.

Breakfast is a light affair involving the consumption of a piece of whole wheat bread, toasted and topped with a drizzle of low-cal olive oil and tuna out of a tin. Quite often my lovely wife prepares a little side salad of tomatoes and sweet pickled onion. This is always accompanied by a little fruit and a hot frothy coffee.

Then I have to take my meds, half a dozen pills that control my blood pressure, blood density, and cholesterol. After all that I have to remember to record my vital signs, blood pressure, SP02, and temperature. It's a little strange that my blood pressure is always higher on my right side than on my left. I think this is due to a blocked carotid artery on my right.

By the time I have all the routine stuff done, and my wife has left for work, the rest of the day is mine to do exactly what I please. During the morning hour, I just try to ease myself into the day ahead at a leisurely pace. It is after all what retirement is for.

Many years ago, when I was young and physically fit, I had to be up at sparrows fart and sprint out the door to catch a bus to work. I used to put in a very hard day's labour, with nothing more than a slice of toast and a cup of tea to fire up the engines and keep me going almost all day! These days I think, stuff that for a game of soldiers, as we used to say.

Recently, about six weeks ago, I decided to ramp up my cycling in order to lose a little weight and for various other health benefits. Again, I have to find a way to motivate myself to get off my lardy arse and go out. With the searing heat of the Japanese hot season, with up to thirty six degrees, it's not easy to get up and go.

I am trying to put in up to 20km a day. However, due to that suffocating heat, I have to do the kilometers in two sessions, one mid-morning, and the other late afternoon. And even then, at times the best I can do is 10km. Still, I am disciplined enough to work up a good sweat doing at least some hard peddling.

The most noticeable thing about my daily life these days is the complete lack of domestic drama. Having been married twice to two ultra-histrionic drama queens I can't tell you how much I appreciate being left to my own devices in total peace and quiet.

Back in the days when I had to live through those turbulent times, I felt like an ill-considered slave who was nothing more than some delusional half-wit who didn't know his arse from his elbow. Oh well, good riddance to bad rubbish as they say.

The only other comment I will make about those two situations is that my four children seem to have learned that self-same attitude towards me. They seem to think I was born yesterday. I am just that daft old sod who is behind the times, a dinosaur in drag. Anyway, since I now have no contact with them, apart from my eldest son, I'm cool.

Lunch is another light affair. I don't like to eat too much during the day as it makes me too relaxed, or tired, and I struggle to get anything done. Sometimes it's a sandwich, or a small bento box, often just a small piece of chicken. Throughout the day, I drink green tea, even when I am out cycling. I always have a flask of ice-cold green tea with me.

At home, I usually sit at my computer and write pieces for Illumination and Vocal Media. I also like to surf the net. I usually end up watching two or three of my favourite channels; Aquaholic, Harry's Garage, and Britain's Got Talent, as well as the American version, AGT.

At the end of the afternoon, my lovely wife comes home and it's time for a shower and a lovely meal, all made with her own fair hands. I am an excellent cook myself, but my wife insists that she does all the cooking. And she cooks such delightful, healthy food, who am I to argue with her?

After our meal, sometimes with a glass of red wine and a dessert, it's time to relax together. We like to lie on the bed watching a film or tv drama like Sherlock Holmes or Inspector Poirot. My wife very rarely sees the end of whatever it is we are watching as she falls asleep very easily. By midnight I am done and turn off the light to go to sleep. That can be a bit of an event as I have to use a sleep apnea machine which prevents me from having a heart attack or stroke in my sleep and waking up dead.

I cannot imagine anything worse than waking up in the morning only to realise that you kicked the bucket in the middle of the night. I am not yet ready to go. I have so many exciting things to do, and so little time to do them. Where does the time go?