Category Archives: Body

A Wineskin in the Smoke

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I had surgery a week ago. I had only undergone surgery under general anesthetic once before, an outpatient surgery about fifteen years ago. This time, I had a cancerous body part removed, meaning I was unconscious for longer than during … Continue reading →

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Thinking About Cancer: Other People’s Stories

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I recently posted about my cancer diagnosis. I am scheduled to have a radical prostatectomy next month, that being one of the treatment options available for prostate cancer. Deciding to have the surgery made me aware of things to which … Continue reading →

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Thinking About Cancer

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

As we age, our bodies tend to buck and sputter on occasions when they used to run smoothly. Joints ache, as do muscles after modest exertion. We can’t run as fast as we used to, or can’t run at all. … Continue reading →

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Cheat Days

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

As 2017 approaches, it’s natural to think about things we would like to change in the new year. In other words, we think of ways to improve ourselves. Many plans for self-improvement require long-term self-control. Losing weight, for example, may … Continue reading →

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Is It Just About The T-Shirt? Experiences Of A Race Day Volunteer

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been a runner/jogger for over forty years, and am thankful that my old hips, knees, and ankles still can churn along faster than walking pace. Last year, I ran in a local 5-kilometer race (the Calvin Spring Classic). As … Continue reading →

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Doing, Being, and the Flu

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

There is doing. . . and there is being. Sometimes we are in the doing mode. There are checklists of things to accomplish, requirements someone expects us to meet. We keep our noses to the grindstone, our eyes on the … Continue reading →

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Physical Simplification, Part 3: Disability

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been writing recently about physical simplification–the process of accepting and affirming rather than rejecting or resisting the physical changes that occur in us as we age. I wrote first about accepting changes in appearance, then about accepting changes in physical … Continue reading →

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Physical Simplification, Part 2: Performance

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I have been writing about physical simplification in later adulthood. According to Lewis Joseph Sherrill, to simplify physically is to accept the changes that occur in our bodies as we age, focusing on those physical features that are most important … Continue reading →

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Physical Simplification, Part I: Appearance

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

This post is part of a series on simplification in late life. The series is inspired by twentieth-century theologian Lewis Joseph Sherrill, who proposed that the most important psychological task of late adulthood is simplification, by which he means “distinguishing … Continue reading →

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On Being an Aging Runner

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I recently ran in a 5-kilometer race, a fundraiser for college scholarships. I did pretty well, all things considered, completing the course a little more than a minute faster than the goal I had set. Admittedly, my goal was rather … Continue reading →

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