A Day in the Life 1: Work, The Funeral & The Dermatology Appt
Tuesday June 15th, 2022
Keeping to the commitment of writing this blog, we’re talking about the good & the bad to show how trying to be fit and healthy goes about living a normal life. So, anyways, another day in the grind. Gotta be honest, I fell asleep downstairs in our chair because I was so tired from a full day at work and I crushed a leg workout earlier that afternoon. When I say crushed, I mean it may have crushed me because I was wobbly after it was finished. That being said, it didn’t go well. I woke up at 1 am, transferred to the couch, and half-slept until my alarm went off at 5:30 am. I dragged myself upstairs and jumped in the shower. Normally I would have done this the night before to save myself time but falling asleep suddenly doesn’t always help with my morning routine.
Another thing I contend with every day is Psoriasis. Not only is it itchy, uncomfortable, and annoyingly noticeable to every person on the planet with an opinion about what’s wrong with me, it requires diligent application of meds every morning and evening. So I missed the evening application, which makes the morning application even more “fun”. All in all, it takes me about an hour to get ready when I’m not prepped the evening before. Luckily, I shaved my head the day before so I can get away with not doing it this morning which saves me about 10 mins. The kid and the lady are up before I'm putting myself together in the bathroom. The kid is in a good mood this morning, which helps bring the stress level down in the AM. Anyone with a toddler knows what wonderful creatures they are. But they’re volatile. The slightest wrong move can set off a chain of events that one might not recover from during the morning routine. Luckily for me, my better half is a pro and handles most of the hard lifting because I’m collecting my gear, cooking a quick breakfast, and out the door.
Regardless, my wild night tirade of falling asleep watching TV and sleeping wrong has still put me about 15 mins behind. The drive is quick but I arrived at work 10 mins before I had to open up the doors. No time for my Miracle Morning Routine, no time to Journal, and no time to set up the day. Speaking of my day, two very important things are happening back to back. I have to be at a funeral to support my cousin’s family. They just lost their grandmother and I couldn’t make the vigil yesterday evening as I had planned. So missing the funeral today is NOT an option. The second is an actual doctor’s appointment with the dermatologist, who I haven’t seen since before COVID in person.
Can’t think about it now though, the first client of the day just walked in. Trained four people, back to back, and I’m happy about how all the sessions went. Everyone was in a good mood, everyone was getting results, and everyone was happy. It always makes things smooth when people follow the plan and these four people do that. I can’t train my normal 11 am client today though, I have to throw on one of the few pairs of slacks I have and get myself to this funeral. My team is here already and my trainer is going to cover for me. Crap! Don’t forget the water bottle; it feels kinda full. Gah! Bathroom really fast, don’t know when I’ll have time to do it again. Okay! Out the door! I hate rushing and what’s funny about that is I’m always rushing. And in my rushing, I drove to where the Vigil was, instead of where the funeral was. Awesome job Capt. Wait! I’m half an hour early! I can make it to the church on time!
Funerals are sad. Funerals for grandmothers feel like they might be sadder than most. No one likes to lose grandparents but it’s inevitable. Somber is the right word. I’m solo on this one, I know a few people. My cousin and his wife (her grandma), her sisters, their mom, etc. Small group but a wonderful ceremony. Very traditional so no speeches, just readings. Funeral processions from church to cemetery are always interesting. This one was well organized. Everyone got there quickly, and we entered the mausoleum. Last rights read; this priest is really good. On to the “burial”.
My Uncle and Aunt are here, the only other people with the same last name as me, besides my cousin who happens to be their son, go figure. He comes up to me and tells me, “Remind your mom she owes me some fresh tortillas.” I look at him, “Oh yea?” He responds, “That’s what she told me this past weekend. She was going to make me some fresh tortillas.” I chuckle, “Well make sure they’re not those store-bought ones that look like they’re freshly made because she’s never made me any fresh tortillas.” Low chuckles between the two of us follow. Mind you, we weren’t trying to be disrespectful, I think we were both feeling a little uncomfortable because really who’s comfortable in a mausoleum? Walking down those steps to the memorial wall is long, quiet, and stressful. Hard not to think about the many times I’ve walked down a similar path in my 39 years. A father, too many cousins, my grandma and grandpa, and assorted friends. She’s officially in her resting place now. My cousin is walking up to me with my nephews. We chat a bit about how everyone is doing, the boys being in football, and all the normal stuff including that we need to get together more besides bad events. We’re all walking out at this point and now I’m thinking about how I’m going to get back in time to get to this doctor’s appointment. Can’t go to the reception and I’m bummed about it because I wanted to be there to support but gotta be an adult.
Get to Kaiser with 5 mins to spare and there’s actually parking! In the exam room pretty quickly. Meet this dermatologist for the first time in person. She’s number 5. My others broke up with me for various reasons, usually location. Everything is fine, just keep doing what you’re doing. “So is there anything else I can be doing? I’m 39 and I know that Psoriasis can increase my heart attack percentage by quite a bit. We also have high cholesterol in my family.” Insert some helpful, and some not-so-helpful information here. Basically, I’m just supposed to keep doing what I’m doing. Now I have to rush back to work as CEO/Trainer/Business Owner. I have a good team though, so that helps. Now I have to find time to train, work out, write this blog post, and close out the day before 7 pm. Should be interesting…
