Milestones: 1. Graduation

  Once again, I am seated in an airplane, several thousand meters above sea level, making my way back home. I was in LA for a landmark occasion. Sharya, my older son graduated from The University of Southern California; A grand graduation ceremony for a thousand kids (that was just the business school) and their proud parents.

  I was there with my first ex wife (Ex1), who is the mother of both my children, and my younger son Sachin, who is also a student at the same institution. I tend to be somewhat dismissive about ‘sentiment’ at such events, attempting to be nonchalant and aloof of the hype, but when you are seated in a hall with tens of thousands of people and watching the grand ceremony, its hard not to feel a pang [or ten] of emotion and a lump the size of significant discomfort in your throat. I have to admit; I even sprung a leak in my eyes when I saw him walk on to the stage arms raised in triumph, bellowing at his mates up on stage with him. A triumph to us, Ex1 and me, as it was to him. 

  He had done it. He had done well. In spite of him looking somewhat dazed and exhausted from several days and nights of continuous celebration (much deserved) and consumption of who knows what, seeing him in his cap and gown was something special. His grades were good, which is more than I can say when I staggered on to a stage 26 years ago.

  The graduation from university, of a child, marks a huge turning point in ones life. You are now the father of a ‘true adult’; A man who has now got the foundation to go out and make his mark in the world. What that mark may be is no longer up to Ex1 and me. We were responsible for getting him to this point. Now its all him.

  These two weeks in my life, I have looked forward to from when I first became a father 24 years ago. I knew that if the math was right and if Sharya especially, stuck to the plan he would graduate in 2014. Probably May, which is graduation month. The month of the year, that I turn 50; two monumental events in my life, a few days apart from each other.

  I wish I could say that it was the mid point in my life, but we all know that’s long gone. Making it to a hundred would take a miracle of biblical proportions. Not after what I have put this poor body through.

  When you are younger you don’t take your body and your good health seriously. In fact, you take it totally for granted. You abuse it with junk food, alcohol and tobacco and with several substances that feature prominently on the banned list of almost every sport known to man. Yet, you expect to make it to middle age unscathed. The arrogance of youth gives us a sense of invincibility. This bubble most often bursts with your first health check past the age of forty. Sadly several of my friends didn’t even make it to forty, let alone the health check. 

  One day, you are a sportsman, with sub 10% body fat, strutting around bare bodied whenever you got a chance and suddenly you are an graying, balding, wrinkling man, peering at an almost unrecognizable image in the mirror, buying loose fitting clothes and wandering where it all went.

  50; the big half-century; what does it mean?

  To me, it’s a wake up call. It’s a final chance. If I don’t reverse some of the damage through a healthier life style, the quality of the however many years I may have left is going to deteriorate and do so rapidly.

  The ride changed a lot of things. I got me back to a reasonable state of fitness and now I have the momentum to improve from this point onwards. However, the challenges are the same, if not greater.

  As soon as you gather some traction with a routine, travel comes up.

  This trip was no different. My nephew Shahin had made reservations at ‘Wolvesmouth’ an incredible dining experience that is one of the most sought after tickets in LA. This along with celebration dinners, In and Out Burgers, Panda Inn Chinese, Breakfast Taco’s, My cousins Cherine’s well stocked fridge and larder meant that that the battle was a tough one.

My trainers approach to it all would have been, “don’t eat it” and stick with the leafy, healthy stuff that was good for you. However, being a mere mortal I don’t have that level of self-control. I did however reduce quantities, tried to stay away from the obvious calorie bombs and walked for many miles around her neighborhood to burn at least some of the calories I was piling in.

  How does one find this balance? Lets face it. The books or magazines have prescribed lifestyles that don’t work for most of us. We can’t stick to those regimes, hence the great success of diet books and fads. Everyone seeks the magic formula of weight loss without great sacrifice. Is that the Holy Grail? Are pills the answer?

  My plan is to hit the gym and the bike as hard as possible when I am not traveling or committed to weekends such as the one coming up. You don’t turn 50 every day and I am certainly not going to see that landmark in sipping soda and nibbling on celery sticks. I will enjoy it as I normally would but minus piles of junk food or ‘bites’ accompanying the liquids. I will cut down on quantities I eat and drink lots of water.

Come Monday, it’s back to the regime, Smoothies for breakfast and healthy lunch and dinner, regular workouts mixing cardio and weights and yoga if I could possibly fit this all in. This may result in some fluctuations in weight but overall it may just provide the balance that I could sustain for the duration of what’s left of my life.

  My friends Anithra, Shazna and I were chatting recently and we have a plan. I stole the idea from another friend Murtaza. Charlene will most likely join as well. We are starting a Whatsapp chat group. What we plan on doing is sharing among each other our adherence to, both diet and workout regimes. The lofty goal is two workouts a day and low starch, low sugar diets. The intention is that it will keep us honest and keep us focused on our goals.

  Charlene and I have many plans for the years to come; a lot revolving on riding a bicycle, but some walking as well. We are hoping to make ‘Around The Pearl’ and annual event and ‘TRAIL’ will do one more walk, this time from North to South. I would like to ride in the Himalayas, at high altitude and walk the Camino de Santiago. I hope to be able push the boundaries of my physical ability for as long as I can and when I cant ride, climb and trek and my body is finally telling me to slow down, I will get back to Golf; but if my dreams become reality, I will die painlessly in some beautiful place on this planet, long before I ever am so old that I have to take up golf.