Wait, What? Six Months?!
Well, April to October is only…6 months. It’s a little longer than my “tiny break” I was expecting. Let me get you caught up.
In February, I did a “4-mile” “race” with my old pup, Jude. The route ended up being 5.5 miles and it was a “race” only in the sense that I paid an entry fee (which went to a good cause) to walk a trail and post our speed online, knowing we would come in dead last, as I don’t run and Jude, well, his 14th birthday was 4/1/2021. He was practically 14 years old! The day after Jude’s race, I took Bulma on her 2-mile race. Again, I’m not running and Bulma, though age wise is great, she turned 8 years old 9/23/2021, her hip/knee is a mess and she cannot go on long walks.
Bulma cannot walk much. After the 5.5 mile walk, Jude requested he not go on “long” walks anymore, only sticking to around the block and such. March came and I had some GI issues. Shooting, almost black out pains, lead to x-rays, which lead to a mostly liquid diet for almost two weeks…it made weight loss easy, that’s for sure. But I had a trip scheduled to get back to Wisconsin for a week! My daughter, Catawba-Lynn, (she was 4 at the time) was fed up with COVID. She was so lonely, as we moved out to the East Coast for my husband’s job, leaving all friends and family in the Midwest.
So, I drank copious amounts of liquids to keep everything flowing, made way way way too many rest stops for a 14+ hour road trip, and made it to Wisconsin, only to find that there was a COVID scare amongst extended family. Meaning, my daughter could not hang out with cousins – which was the point of the trip. It was hard.
April my body normalized a bit. GI issues were gone. But the looming threat that they might come back made me pause for thought, calculating I’s and O’s each morning and night.
May! May we had another road trip planned. So much driving. East Coast to Colorado. It was long. Good visit, yes, but I was thrown off my rhythm and schedule. To be quite honest, stress from different living arrangements (East Coast vs Midwest is very different), weather (the Philadelphia area is inhabitable, in my opinion) and the way in which the Philadelphia area handled COVID (interesting government practices and I feel like necessities were and are still closed…we will just leave it there) had me very stressed. I spent the summer ten pounds above my allowed weight (146.0 – 151.0). Ugh.
It’s the heat! This place! Gah!! It’s not just the heat – it’s the constant humidity!! Our founding fathers thought Philadelphia would make a great place for our country’s capitol, but as people started dying from an unknown disease (Yellow Fever) they picked up and moved it to a region more habitable for human life. Philadelphia – I took a walk in 73 degree heat, and somehow, the Philadelphia area, broke science laws and the humidity was near unbearable in the cool temperatures. We purchased an old home out here – one with tall ceilings – to aid in the cost of cooling. Heat rises to the top, we chill down below – a lesser need to run the air conditioning – if the humidity wasn’t so nasty!! Any way.
Even though I spent almost every day outside with my daughter at story times, library programs, the zoo and arboretums, I wasn’t really walking and hiking, as like I said, Jude retired and Bulma is not ready for long walks.
Did you know I am homeschooling? (We are working on reading. My daughter’s ability to partake in most societal anything rests with my abilities to teach her to read. No stress here). When my husband, Lucas, and I got pregnant, we decided that we wanted a parent home with her and we really wanted to home school. We discussed selling our small duplex and moving back into a mobile home if that was financially necessary to make this plan work. But we were able to make it work without selling our duplex…until Lucas got a job offer in Philadelphia and we left paradise for the East Coast. Homeschooling! It “started” in September. (I have been working with Catawba-Lynn on skills since birth but now we are in kindergarten). Getting a rhythm started for homeschooling, only to be interrupted by a trip I hastily (but necessarily) scheduled to go back to Wisconsin to see my camping buddies was hard work.
October! We blasted past my birthday, watched The International for Dota 2 (online, 5 v 5, MOBA, game), and put together a Halloween costume. (My daughter wants a unicorn costume with dinosaurs and the solar system. Well, I delivered).
And we are here. My weight and health are back on the forefront. I do not have as many activities planned with Catawba-Lynn while we do our classwork, so I am getting a little more sleep, allowing me to wake up early again and work on my personal projects (like this one!) I’m only about 5 pounds over my allowed number. I expect to be back to my allowance right before Thanksgiving…ha. It’s like cleaning your house in Wisconsin in March when you have dogs. Pointless. Mud everywhere! But that brings me to my point – it is not pointless. Your health is not pointless. Yes – the holidays are coming, but today, right now, is a great time to be conscious of your health and be working on it.
Right now I am a little more than “half a human.” I am working on it. I will be back to my number. I will make wiser health decisions. And I will handle the stressors that I have faced in a better, healthier way. And as promised, I will be writing articles on some beautiful walks and hikes. Be back soon!
Dianne
Half A Human 