“Dad…thanks so much for raising me, taking care of my sisters and I, and loving us all so much.”
These are words I exchanged with my dad recently, and it felt good. They are words that many may think about their parents, but often don’t speak out loud.
Some families may wait until it’s too late to have a talk like this, but I encourage you to not be one of them. Tell your parents what they mean to you. Thank them for taking care of your for all of those years. Now it’s your turn to help take care of them. Have a Heart 2 Heart conversation with somebody important in your life. Luckily for my family, we’re having these conversations when my parents are still healthy.
When having a deep conversation like this with your parent, it’s interesting to see how the tables have turned in life. My parents selflessly took care of my sisters and I for years, and now we’re slowly getting closer to a phase where we’ll have to start taking care of them. What used to be my dad’s hand on my shoulder, is now my hand on his. It’s a intersting transition in life, but an important one. I want to do the best I can to make sure I’m always there for my parents, just as they always have been for me.
My dad started having heart problems a few years back. His heart rate was too fast, and he had what was call Afib (atrial fibrillation). He had some medical procedures done to help stabilize his heart rate, and he had to change his diet drastically. One thing we talked about recently was the continued importance of fiber in his diet. I brought up how Metamucil and Meta Health Bars help lower cholesterol to promote heart health†.
It can be hard to start a conversation like that with your elder about health, but luckily someone was kind enough to give us a blueprint on how to do that. Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Michael Strahan, recently teamed up with Meta Wellness to start up the Heart 2 Heart campaign. In celebration of February’s National Heart Month, Michael and his father Gene sat down to talk about health. Michael was nervous about his father’s health, and talked with him about his heart condition. You can watch the video here: spr.ly/H2HLOD
We were thankful that Michael and Gene shared their intimate conversation with us, and their goal is encourage men across the country to have important health conversations with their loved ones this February and beyond. You can help your parents make better decisions so that they will live a longer and healthier life. Is there someone in your life that you want to have this conversation with?
Not only do you have Michael and his father’s video to help you prepare for that talk, but you also have the Meta Wellness site (http://www.metawellness.com/en-us) to help educate yourself and others on heart health. Meta Wellness gives you simple steps that make it easier to live a healthier lifestyle. Some examples are going for walks with your loved ones, drinking more water, and getting more fiber in your diet with supplements from Metamucil and Meta Health Bars. Be sure to check out the savings on variety of Meta products here.
I’m so glad I had the Heart 2 Heart conversation with my dad, and I plan to have more in the years to come. There is nothing more important than the health of your family, and even though it may be a bit nerve-racking to act as a parent to your father, you can trust that he will thank you in the end.
And I’m thankful that my dad has the great sense of humor to take the cover photo of this article with me.
*Disclosure: Life of Dad partnered with Meta Wellness for this promotion.
†Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 7 grams of soluble fiber per day from psyllium husk, as in Metamucil and Meta Health Bars, may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol. One adult serving of Metamucil Powder has 2.4 grams of this soluble fiber. One Meta Health Bar and one serving of Metamucil Fiber capsules have at least 1.8 grams of this soluble fiber.