Grandma is Taking Care of Her Nervous System!

The other day I was talking to my grandma. Like most folks, I love my Grandmother dearly. Grandma was a widower for 17 years, until she met a gentleman in the antique booth next to hers, 10 years her junior. She thought they would be wonderful companions for each other, but decided not to marry because of certain legalities and tax matters. Grandma called back the next day claiming she didn’t want to set a bad example for her seven granddaughters. I smiled, not only because grandma was going to have the same conversation seven times that day, but all of us were about 20 plus, morals already molded.

Grandma got married. She and her new husband moved from the Texas to a small town in North Carolina located in the isothermal belt. For those you who don’t know, that means grandma on average is 5 degrees warmer in the winter and 5 degrees cooler in the summer than the rest of us. She and Dale pulled down off the “net”.

Grandma is pet advocate. She currently has two cats. Spook is an anti-sort, and blind Henry who can still catch his share of ground squirrels. Makes you wonder about those ground squirrels.

Grandma and Dale moved from Texas to North Carolina where they proceeded to make their own Shangri-La. Grandma does not like snakes. Originally from Penn State, She moved with my grandfather (and three small children) to Kingsville, Texas (think hot, dry, flat, and rattle snakes… the real reason why Texans wear cowboy boots and are fond of the family dog). While living in Kingsville, a toddler stepped on a rattlesnake nest suffering over 300 bites. Sadly, the child died. This event made a real impression on my Grandmother. Consequently, Grandma likes a wide birth to her trails, so she “could see things coming and going”. So you can imagine the commotion when Grandma told me she mistakenly grabbed a copperhead! Grandma proclaimed she could really move even at the ripe age of 80! I was happy that Grandma’s nervous system was working so well, seeing that fight or flight response kick in. Grandma was so fired up after her flight, she went back to fight that snake with a hoe. She chopped the sucker’s head off. Dale confirmed the beheading. Last I talked to them, they were trying to decide if they should hang up the snake carcass to catch its mate.

The whole reason for painting my grandma for you is that she is someone who does things right, not perfect, but right. She has always been active; not a fanatic, but she is a crusader in her garden. She keeps in shape. Grandma is routine oriented and has a bedtime ritual of drawing a bath. Although a ritual does not ensure a good night’s sleep, it sure does help. Although faced with the pain of losing a spouse, Grandma was able to find fun in living, pursue new interests and create happiness in her life. Getting over my grandfather’s death was not easy, I can remember her crying a lot, but she forged ahead. She surrounded herself with pets, another healthy thing, giving her a since of family when family was not around. Grandma is an avid reader and nutrition hound. She has been taking vitamins before they were in vogue. Grandma has also been a distilled water advocate even back when even I thought buying bottled water was loopy. And as my Grandmother, I like to think that she is free of nerve pressure.

Practicing good habits does not ensure good health, but it can stack the cards your favor. Children pick up the habits of their parents. Your bad/ good habits today can be the habits of your children tomorrow. Genetics gets passed from generation to generation…so do many habits.