¶We’re on an early morning airport mission, taking Pat, Denny, Debbie, and Pam to TPA for their flight home. Leaving the condo at 3:30 AM sharp…ish.

¶Many poolside conversations among residents at the condo start with a description of some ailment or health condition. “My knee” this or “my shoulder” that. Some of the older folks greet each other with updates on things their family did recently, only to say they themselves had to miss out on the adventure because of an ailment or condition—“they went but I couldn’t because of my hip.”

¶This reminds me of current conversations we have with our parents, who seem to remind us every time that “it’s no fun getting old.”

¶I feel like some people approach aging like a resignation of sorts — no one wants a bum shoulder, a broken hip, a bad knee, or any of these other ailments and conditions, but many seem to view it as an inevitable part of getting older. And then they let their particular ailment or condition define them, sort of like middle-aged folks let their jobs and careers define themselves. Something else I hate. (Just the other day someone whom Renee had just met looked at me and, as their first words spoken directly to me, said “what do you do?” Really? Ugh).

¶I don’t want to age like this. I don’t want to resign to defining myself by whatever comes my way health-wise.

¶So, I’m going to do three things (continue to do two things, really, and start doing the third).

¶First, thanks to Renee, I’m controlling my diet and eating right (cutting out inflammatory foods and ingredients and focusing on real, actual food instead of manufactured food).

¶Second, I’m going to keep moving. Walking, light weightlifting, and maybe some sport activity. I’m actively developing this habits now and need to accelerate it a bit.

¶Third, I’m going to define my future self by the things I create, not my job or any health ailments or conditions that come my way. I’m building Daystream to allow people to tell their stories. That’s a bigger part of my story than any knee replacement or broken hip that comes my way.