Yesterday I passed a billboard that read:
Eat healthy, Stay active and Have fun!
Eat healthy, Stay active and Have fun!
Good advice for everyone!
It reminded me of the kind of advice my dad gave me while I was growing up. He believed in healthy eating, exercise and enjoying each day to its fullest!
Daddy was raised on a farm in Tennessee where they ate lots of healthy vegetables everyday. His favorite was the sweet potato.
I remember my Mama would cook 4 or five sweet potatoes in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. When they were soft, she would turn off the oven and let them sit for several hours. This is the secret to cooking your sweet potatoes!
If you want to eat something good, just let your sweet potatoes "candy". It does not matter if the potato is eaten hot or cold; it is delicious! Add a little butter and enjoy! :)
And on the more scientific side: In 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fibre content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value. According to these criteria, sweet potatoes earned 184 points, 100 points over the next on the list, the common potato.
Daddy had more advice. Stay active and keep moving! Every morning when he came down the stairs, he stopped at the landing to do exercises. He rode his bicycle almost everyday until he was 89. He knew the secret to good health...keep moving!
Enjoy your day and have fun! Daddy enjoyed everyday. He embraced life as it happened and kept a smile on his face with music in his voice.
He lived with me for about four years but began falling three or four time a week. I feared he would break his hip as Mama had done. The day finally came when he would enter a nursing home. With tears in my eyes, and a heavy heart, I told him it was time to go. He looked up at me, asked for his hat and cane and said: "Van, life is full of changes; this is just another change in mine."
What a wonderful, gracious, earthly father I had with an attitude of kindness, respect and consideration for others. He didn't go out of his way to make his point. He believed in letting the other person save face. Everyone who knew him, loved him. He taught me not to dwell on my misfortunes.
Once when I went to visit Daddy in the nursing home, I asked him if everyone was treating him well. He looked up at me and said: "In my lifetime, I don't remember anyone mistreating me." He always saw the good in people and situations. Attitude is important to good health and long life. Daddy lived to be ten days short of 97 years old. He never once complained about being in a nursing home. He made friends and he made the best of his situation.
In the Bible, Paul tells us in Philippians 4:11 (New King James Version) 11 Not that I speak in regard to need,
It reminded me of the kind of advice my dad gave me while I was growing up. He believed in healthy eating, exercise and enjoying each day to its fullest!
Daddy was raised on a farm in Tennessee where they ate lots of healthy vegetables everyday. His favorite was the sweet potato.
I remember my Mama would cook 4 or five sweet potatoes in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. When they were soft, she would turn off the oven and let them sit for several hours. This is the secret to cooking your sweet potatoes!
If you want to eat something good, just let your sweet potatoes "candy". It does not matter if the potato is eaten hot or cold; it is delicious! Add a little butter and enjoy! :)
And on the more scientific side: In 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fibre content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value. According to these criteria, sweet potatoes earned 184 points, 100 points over the next on the list, the common potato.
Daddy had more advice. Stay active and keep moving! Every morning when he came down the stairs, he stopped at the landing to do exercises. He rode his bicycle almost everyday until he was 89. He knew the secret to good health...keep moving!
Enjoy your day and have fun! Daddy enjoyed everyday. He embraced life as it happened and kept a smile on his face with music in his voice.
He lived with me for about four years but began falling three or four time a week. I feared he would break his hip as Mama had done. The day finally came when he would enter a nursing home. With tears in my eyes, and a heavy heart, I told him it was time to go. He looked up at me, asked for his hat and cane and said: "Van, life is full of changes; this is just another change in mine."
What a wonderful, gracious, earthly father I had with an attitude of kindness, respect and consideration for others. He didn't go out of his way to make his point. He believed in letting the other person save face. Everyone who knew him, loved him. He taught me not to dwell on my misfortunes.
Once when I went to visit Daddy in the nursing home, I asked him if everyone was treating him well. He looked up at me and said: "In my lifetime, I don't remember anyone mistreating me." He always saw the good in people and situations. Attitude is important to good health and long life. Daddy lived to be ten days short of 97 years old. He never once complained about being in a nursing home. He made friends and he made the best of his situation.
In the Bible, Paul tells us in Philippians 4:11 (New King James Version) 11 Not that I speak in regard to need,
for I have learned in whatever state I am,
to be content:
Good advice, don't you agree?
Good advice, don't you agree?
What wonderful advise and how nice to see a picture of your daddy. He was a wise man. I think it is important to make the best of each day we have. I do not always do that - but I try to. y grandparents raised me and I feel I got an awful lot of good advise from both of them that I have been able to ujse my whole life. Thank you for your very inspiring Blog. I look forward to it. Hugs, Pauline
ReplyDeleteThis was a somewhat nostalgic read for me. "Papa", as I called him, was the best man I ever knew. I have always said, and still say, that if I could be half the man Papa was, I would be a great man. I miss him and think of him always.
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