So today I had my yearly physical, with Dr. Mary, who took over the practice of our long time doc, Dr. Dave. Mary is a member of MDVIP, a concierge company that charges a yearly fee to give you old style access to your doc. Wifey dropped out a few years ago -- thought it was a waste of money -- but I am of the belief that if something ain't broke -- don't fix it. So I stayed.
One of the benefits is an old style, executive check up. I was there 2 hours today -- EKG, hearing, grip strength, full scale neuro workup. Also, they do a comically detailed blood analysis -- not only cholesterol, but how big the cholesterol clumps are. My friend Eric says a lot of it is bullshit, but Mary believes in one particular marker -- for inflammation, which she says is predictive of future stroke and heart attack. And thankfully, my results are all either optimal or near optimal. Except...
Somehow I gained 35 pounds since last year. Ha. Somehow. It's called eating like a pig. The first year of the pandemic took away my appetite, and started me on daily 10 mile anxiety walks. And I dropped -- to 220 or so. Well, I'm still walking and exercising, but the appetite came back -- and so there's now 35 more pounds of me. So I have my project for 2022 -- go for the gold -- lose the weight again. I'll do it.
One of the things they do is take your blood pressure in all 4 extremities -- and each side is supposed to match up. Mine did, and amazingly my BP was normal, despite my too large size. I figure I can bring it to low normal with the weight drop.
But speaking of food -- last night was a fun one. Wifey was in the Gables at a birthday dinner, and Jonathan was working late, so I prevailed upon D2 to have dinner with me. I suggested Captain's Tavern, an old school place where the old gringos of our area like to go. D2 doesn't like it, but we compromised on eating in the bar.
Sure enough, after our delicious conch chowders and my martini, D2 got a text from her friend Michael -- asking if her Dad was at the Tavern. Ha. Turns out Michael was there with HIS parents -- giving me instant restaurant cred. We stopped by their table to say hello on the way out -- with Jonathan's takeout meal in tow. He said it was delicious.
And my visit reminded me: we often bring in stone crabs for NYE from either the Tavern or Golden Rule. Last year, at the height of the plague, we made NYE just our family. I'm thinking this year maybe stone crabs again -- to celebrate the coming in of 2022 and hopefully a year where the plague is on the downside.
Meanwhile, my suegra turns 97 soon. Sadly, she's mostly out of it -- last visit she barely spoke to Wifey. But she somehow trudges on. After her birthday, our amazing grandson turns 2. Wow -- that was fast. D1 and Joey are planning a get together at a party space near their house.
And then, the following week, the world will recognize a HUGE birthday. Lights will be lit, and festive ornaments will be hung. It's WIFEY'S birthday! It coincides with another Jew's birthday who was born, also, in the Middle East. But Wifey is the reason for our season. She hasn't decided yet how she wishes to celebrate.
After NYE, we have yet another event: our 35th wedding anniversary. Talk about the flying by years -- not sure how 3.5 decades have gone so fast. But they have.
After that, D2 turns 30 on Groundhog Day, and our holiday season will be in the books again.
So it's nice to get good news from the Doc. Nothing is permanent, of course -- like Tom Petty sang in his lullaby: "We're all right...for now."
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