thursday, dropping dead, sandwiches

I kind of like Thursday.  Joe leaves for work late so it is a very leisurely morning.  The only thing about it is he gets back late.  He gets back late and then I pretty much hang with him for a few hours and then go to work: until 7 in the morning.  That is the thing about Thursday.  It starts around 6:30 and ends when I finally get a little nap in on Friday afternoon.  That is a lot of time to be awake.  I just have to pace myself.

I don’t have so much to report.  I went to the gym last night (as I always do on Wednesday night, this is not particularly news, is it?).  I had a little cardio-health test I was taking part in.  The good news is that my heart is in good shape.  I am so happy about this.  A little background here: a lot of people I grew up with started dying of heart related problems as early as 27.  Three people I knew just suddenly dropped dead (heart related causes).  This hit home after I had my son.  My doctor put me on the pill and I started having strange and scary symptoms: tingling in my hands and face, racing pounding heart, fatigue…. On one instance I had taken some sort of cold medicine and I can’t even describe what happened.  It was just about the scariest thing that ever happened to me.  I couldn’t see or hear well, I was hot and cold, the room was getting smaller and larger, my heart was pounding in my eyes ad my gums… terror!!!  I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was OFF THE CHARTS.  Like way over the line for hypertension.  How can this happen to a person with an almost meat-free and low sodium diet?  What I learned?  Even if you aren’t a smoker: THE PILL CAN KILL YOU.

It was fear of suddenly dropping dead at 30 that got me on an obsessive track to cardio-vascular health.  I track my blood pressure, I run, I eat well- I try.  Last night I took a little challenge and learned that I am in the top third of cardiac health for women!!! I was so happy! I am so happy. My blood pressure this morning is 110/61.  I don’t want to jinx myself with expressing my relief here.  I have also had childhood friends drown and die in car crashes (sadly there could be a little Edward Gorey book about people I have known- everything from the daughter of my grandfather’s business partner who drank witch hazel to the kid I knew in elementary school who rode his snowmobile into a wire closing off a dump road… its a wonder I think sunny thoughts at all).  Anyway, yay for my heart.  Please keep working.

I am taking part in Elsa’s sandwich party .  I am not counting on posting tomorrow as I will be extremely exhausted so I intend to do my sandwich post on Saturday.  I am deciding which angle to go with: the run-of-the-mill lunch I make my husband every day or one of my more creative sandwiches.  Decisions!!! Tune in to see!