Dr apt, teaching tomorrow

My appointment with the doctor was anticlimactic. I am doing well enough to just keep doing what I am currently doing with the additional assignment that I get at least 10k steps per day. My average is about 8k per day. The underlying reason for the increase in overall activity is to lose weight. My weight has held constant for the better part of a year and it is certainly a good idea to lower my weight. As I age, the need to practice better eating habits is not only a good idea, it is a life-extending idea. The fact that I have held onto about thirty extra pounds for several years does not indicate any real desire on my part to get my weight under control. Perhaps it is time. I have noticed that flavor is starting to disappear form most foods. Those things that do have flavor cause me such horrific heartburn that I avoid them. I suppose that is to be expected, but it is disappointing.  

Because I am experiencing difficulty dealing with the heat, I was given a prescription for a low dose nitro glycerin pill in case I feel the need, but I do not know that I will use any of the pills. The fact that I have spent so little time out in the heat and have, therefore not acclimated to the heat is most likely the reason I wear out so quickly. At this point, the extreme heat will be over before I have a chance to acclimate this year. So, I will just endure and do as much as much as I can in the evenings. If it turns out that the fatigue is more than a lack of ability to tolerate the heat, we will deal with that at some point in the future. My blood pressure is good. My heart rate is outstanding. It is breathing I struggle with. That can relate to heart problems, but correlation is not causation. In a month, if I am still having issues, I will go and see Grandma’s cardiologist to see it I need a heart cathaterization to fully evaluate my heart condition.

Tomorrow, I was not scheduled to teach. Another of my colleagues was scheduled to teach the class, but he had to bow out. I am happy to teach the class, especially since it is a 4-hour class. I think my management was trying to give me a break since the full burden of instructing will fall on me alone starting August 1^st. Red Shaw will retire on July 31. He is the only other person at my company that is listed primarily as an instructor. Going forward, I will have at least two classes per week through the month of August. Mostly online classes with some in person classes. It should be a very busy schedule while we promote our online class offerings. I have no idea what the pressure on me will be when travel is allowed again, and I will be required to be onsite for a client class while still maintaining the online class teaching schedule. What fun?

On the way back from the doctor’s office Mama and I shopped at Walmart. Nether of us wore a mask. We were not asked to, so we did not offer. There were some stares. There were some sideways looks, but in general we were treated as we have always been. People greeted us cordially. We engaged in conversation with several other shoppers in fairly normal conversation. It was not a bad experience. I was asked to wear a mask at the doctor’s office, but when I said I did not have one with me and had trouble breathing when I did wear one nothing more was said.

Fortunately, I am not required to wear a mask at the office. If I was, I would comply…grudgingly. I would not be surprised if we are required to mask up before we are all allowed to reoccupy the office, but the work from home date has been extended to September 30^th. So, we have time to wait for this madness to evolve – for the better or for the worse – until that date. Who knows what will happen in the next two months? Sadly, this will all be over on or about November 7^th.

Next week will be the last week of July. How this year has flown by.