Everything’s Good… Until It Isn’t!

Posted On 10 June 2023

Last updated on April 10th, 2024

Tires last until they blow… The income is great until it stops coming in… Our health is good until we end up in the hospital… Everything is good until it isn’t!

Things can work out like in Hemmingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises: “How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.” Like the sunny, summer day that can turn cloudy, then develop into a downpour.

The situation can be like the proverbial frog in a pot of water… Toss the frog into a pot of hot water, and it’ll jump out. If we put the frog into a pot of warm water, then increase the temperature with the frog in the water, it’ll eventually cook itself. (I haven’t done this experiment myself, I’ve just read about it.)

A Birthday & A Physical

Another birthday happened in January this year. The big 5-0! It was great be able to celebrate it with my family in Colorado. After we got back I booked an appointment to get a physical since it is recommended around certain birthdays. I had also noticed that I was more tired than I thought I should be. It strikes me as odd that now we have to book an appointment to see a doctor at a walk-in clinic, but that’s not where I’m going with this post!

So, my appointment rolled around (5 weeks later!) and he sent me to the lab to have some blood tests done. The blood test results came back with everything looking normal. My ECG said there was something with my heart. While on the phone call with the doctor on the follow-up appointment, he mentioned that I should check my blood pressure when I have a chance before my next appointment with him. (Do doctors even check blood pressure? …or is it only nurses that check it? Either way, my doctor has never actually checked my blood pressure!)

Blood Pressure

I hadn’t checked my blood pressure in years. I assume they probably checked my blood pressure when I had thumb surgery in 2016. About a week later I was in a store with a blood pressure machine, so I checked my blood pressure: 191/120! I casually told my wife about my blood pressure when I delivered her food to her at work. (My blood pressure was at what is considered a crisis level!)

My wife started texting me before I got home, then, our daughter is calling me! Ok, Ok. I’ll check again at a different machine, and if it’s still high, I’ll go to the hospital. It was still very high!

When they checked me into Emergency, the BP reading was 220/132! The nurses and doctor checked me over. Asked all kinds of questions. Chest X-Rays and an ECG. They ended up giving me a pill and a prescription for high blood pressure.

Sleep Apnea

My wife has said for years that I snore very loudly and regularly. Somehow, I managed to sleep through it! I mentioned to the doctor that my wife thought I might have sleep apnea. He sent a referral for that, and the test revealed that I have “moderately severe” sleep apnea.

Sleeping with a CPAP machine is not that enjoyable. I am getting MUCH better sleep, though, so it is worth it. I had resisted getting tested because, if there’s no diagnosis, it doesn’t exist. Right? It’s important to get things checked out. That way they can get attended to.

Getting It Under Control

With the combination of two medications, the CPAP machine, and handing in my resignation from a job that has me leaving the house at 2:00 am and not getting home until 5:00 pm, I am getting my blood pressure under control. We are our best investment.

I tell you this story to illustrate that point that things are good until they aren’t. We don’t know where they will come from. Neither do we know when they will show up in our life. The flip side of “everything’s good until it isn’t” is that when a problem is handled head-on, it can be dealt with.

I could have told the story about a pandemic and the governments shutting down economies in the name of health. (It was not the virus, but the governments that shut down the economy.) That was years ago now, even though we are still feeling some of the effects of that action.

Life Goes On

All that we can do when we have an upheaval in our life is deal with it and carry on. Sometimes other things need to be put on hold. Sometimes things need to change. While life will not go back to the way it was before, we can continue living life.

I am working on losing the extra pounds I have put on over the decades. This blood pressure incident was the first time that I was in the hospital because of a health problem, not an accident! I am now attempting to eat healthier and eat less.

Applying This to Finances

Ok. What does this post about health problems have to do with finances? Everything! We never know when an upheaval will arrive. They will arrive eventually. When, and from where they will arrive is the question. Remember, that everything’s good until it isn’t!

While money is not all important, it is a major factor in modern life. To quote the movie, A River Runs Through It, “Eventually all things merge into one and a river runs through it”. For me, the river is finances.

Being Prepared

Having the cash to cover things that we need to, regardless of income gives us a sense of confidence and security. Previously, I wrote about my 1-Up System, Carrying Cash, having Emergency Funds, and having Cash at Home. Also, if we have a variety of skill sets, we can change jobs if we need to do something different.

It is our responsibility to be prepared for whatever my come our way. It could be something of our own doing, or it could be something out of our control. We can still be prepared. I encourage you to prepare yourself. The simple act of being prepared can turn crisis into a manageable event. Just remember, that everything is good until it isn’t.