My family wasn’t prepared to lose my step father last year.
Because my mother has severe health issues and has come close to dying on several occasions, our worries were focused on her. I spoke with my step father about my mom’s declining health several times. My step father passed away from a brain aneurysm. It happened without any warning. We learned that this concern runs in his family. Her own mother died from a brain aneurysm quite a few years before. In the days after his death, I was looking for anything to help me cope with the grief. I was overeating and drinking too much. I knew that I was falling apart both emotionally and physically but was unsure what to do about it. A friend of mine suggested I go with him to the gym. This was the beginning of a big and positive change in my way of life. Working out with my buddy for an hour was a great way to work through the grief. He is very focused on his level of fitness. His workouts are strenuous. There’s no time to think about anything but keeping up with him and how exhausted I am. I was always on the verge of quitting and then he’d push me to do one more pushup, run one more mile, complete one more two-minute round of shadow boxing. At the end of the workouts, I was always totally exhausted, sweaty and sore and yet I felt better than ever. He and I would head to the gym four or five times a week. I realized that the hours at the gym were the best part of my day. It was the one time I wasn’t dwelling on things that can’t be changed. Since then, I’ve continued to prioritize my health and fitness.