Non-negotiable
by Nancy Jorgensen | What the body wants.
Read carefully. Act FAST or lose EVERYTHING.
We have INFORMATION you need. If you want to see the next TEN YEARS, follow directions. This is not a joke. Begin IMMEDIATELY.
Walk thirty minutes three times a week. WE WILL KNOW IF YOU DON’T. MUSCLES are not optional. Lift weights even if you don’t feel like it. You IGNORED us before. Now your HIPS hurt. The fatigue is a MESSAGE.
THREE meals, no excuses. Protein, protein, protein. Fruits. Vegetables. NO CHEETOS. If you disobey, there will be stomach ACID.
In bed by TEN, no SCREENS after nine, or we keep you AWAKE.
Read books you LOVE and quit BORING ones. Say YES to adventures. Say NO to people who stress you. Ten minutes of meditation. Daily.
You may work alone or in a group. Too busy is not a valid excuse. We will know if you say tomorrow. That’s when we ratchet up the knee PAIN. We will keep you from picking up your grandson. Stairs will be IMPOSSIBLE.
Delay and you won’t open a jar. You won’t GET UP off the floor. You will be TIRED.
Your deadline is NOT negotiable. We warned you before, and now we NEED your attention.
PLEASE.
We WANT you to carry your grandson. We WANT you to play piano. We WANT you to walk in the park.
Begin NOW.
Yours truly,
Heart, Lungs, Muscles, and Mind
Nancy Jorgensen is a Wisconsin writer, educator, musician, and regular blood donor. She is the mother of a high school English teacher and the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in women’s triathlon. Her essays appear in HuffPost, Business Insider, The Offing, River Teeth, Wisconsin Public Radio, and elsewhere. Her most recent book is a middle-grade sports biography, Gwen Jorgensen: USA’s First Olympic Gold Medal Triathlete (Meyer & Meyer Sport). Find her @Nancjoe on Instagram and at NancyJorgensen.weebly.com.
This essay is a Short Reads original.
