Got milk?

Things our mothers told us: Drink your milk, eat your vegetables, sit up straight!

I should have listened. If I drank more milk, my bones would be strong and my body healthy. If I ate more veggies instead of say, cake and cookies, my nickname growing up wouldn't have been "round Robyn." If I could just sit up straight, maybe I could have sidestepped some of my back woes.

Is it too late to reverse the damage? I hope not. This weekend I saw a distressing sight. My mother looked like she was a victim of not taking her own advice. That's not completely the case. It seems her health has gotten out of her control. She has osteoporosis and it has advanced significantly since I last saw her at Christmas. Most times I looked at her this weekend, her chin was resting on her chest and she was having a hard time holding her head up at all. It was too painful to watch. I just wanted to hold her head up for her! There's nothing we can do -- but she has exercises she must do. And we strongly encouraged her to do so.

On the long ride home, I kept thinking: Will this be me in 40 years? Can I prevent turning into that? I know my posture has room for improvement. I'm hunched over the computer too much to even notice I'm no longer sitting up straight. I also know I don't drink enough milk-- though I try to make up for it by O.D.ing on ice cream over the summer.

My first course of action when we got home yesterday was running to Wal-Mart to get some calcium supplements. Two horse pills a day and we're on our way to stronger bones! Now I just need to replace all those leftover jelly beans with carrot sticks. I also find that if I look up and thank God for my health, my shoulders touch the back of my chair and I have good posture!

There's a cure in there somewhere. But I think I'll keep that mint chocolate chip ice cream handy as a backup!