In good health

It's been my custom for the past several years to write on the holiday cards I send out "Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year." Why the addition of "healthy" to the usual holiday greeting? Not sure. Perhaps it's because I had a mysterious, debilitating illness that trashed my life for five years in my 30s. (It turned out to be interstitial cystitis, and treatable, once diagnosed.) Or perhaps because on the East Coast I sometimes bought coats from Jewish manufacturers with labels that said "Wear in good health."

Anyway, I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do write down a few priorities. This year, the whiteboard outside my office says:

1. Eat healthy food.
2. Exercise three times a week.
3. Earn $$$.
4. Do creative things.
5. Have fun with people.

They're in that order for a reason. It's hard for me to work long hours, sustain creative projects, or truly enjoy myself, if I'm not healthy. I know people who manage it, but I'm not one of them.

And, yes, I know that simply eating healthy food and exercising won't guarantee good health; it'll just tip the odds in my favor. Genetics, and fate, are also important factors.

Those if you who know me can guess why I'm thinking and writing about health this week, can't you?