day 102
Because of the flareup I've been freaking out about how I can't seem to get to bed before my internal clock thinks that it is midnight. However, I've been waking up no problem 8.5 hours later when the sun is nice and high, and that I love. Time changes are so disorienting.
I seem to be much better today. Is the flare ebbing?
I'm trying to have a week in which I do Kitchen's Lane 4x. I got discouraged about Thursday, because I need the car for work. Then I realized that I could leave the house early, drive the car to the store, and do a nice walk from there that includes Kitchen's Lane. I'd get to see a part of the woods I've been wanting to see more, actually. So that's a win.
Thursday is also a challenge because I have to be at the pickup site for our Winter Harvest buying club at 4:30 to help sort orders. Is a good deal: it will drag me out of the store earlier, I'll pick up the food in a timely fashion, and we'll get a break on the cost of the food.
Today as I reached the park entrance someone pulled up and leaned over as if to offer me a ride. She was in a truck, and I couldn't see her very well. I jerked my thumb and said, "I'm going in the woods!" Then I puzzled over this for a bit. Was it a lift she was offering, or directions she wanted that I didn't give? She didn't roll down her window. Who was she? Ah well, I'm known in the neighborhood.
That first wooded slope was like my own personal cathedral. Every step a prayer to my body for health. Golden-brown leaves drifted all down, swirling and floating on the wind, falling in my hair. Rounding a slope, I noticed giant brown leaves littering the ground and sunlight on my face. The woods are starting to open up to winter-bare branches (a time I also love). The ground is thick with a slippery brown carpet that keeps the mud from the weekend's rain from drying out. Giant compound leaves of devil's walking stick are reddish purple at the base. They will leave a tall, prickly bare stick behind. Beech leaves are vivid green veins and gold tips fading to brown. In winter they hang on as silvery remnants, fluttering and rustling in the wind. More and more I feel I know this place. Robins and chickadees commented on my passage.
I'm getting resigned to only being able to do a morning walk during the short days of the year. This morning I was calculating how long it would take to do another 100 days. At 5 days/week I'm thinking end of March, perhaps into April, though I'd need a bad weather indoor exercise backup plan. Also started calculating how many days I'd be able to do by mid-June which would take me to a whole year of walking. Then I remembered gardening. My garden got hideously neglected this summer, but I'm sure I'll want to try again this spring. Ah well. Flexibility is key.
The thing I'm really wondering is how I will feel over time as I endure. How much will I need to push in order to take on new challenges and not get bored? Will I get faster? Will that hill get even easier? Will I remember how hard things once were?
I see my doctor tomorrow for a physical. I was supposed to go last spring, but I was feeling cruddy and never scheduled that visit. I totally manipulate the dates I go in for checkups to reflect when I'm feeling good. No, I won't neglect to go in for an immediate issue -- but I'll probably see someone else. For an actual long visit with my regular physician, I'm trying to present my best side. Despite the stupid flareups, I'm feeling pleased by what I have to report.
I seem to be much better today. Is the flare ebbing?
I'm trying to have a week in which I do Kitchen's Lane 4x. I got discouraged about Thursday, because I need the car for work. Then I realized that I could leave the house early, drive the car to the store, and do a nice walk from there that includes Kitchen's Lane. I'd get to see a part of the woods I've been wanting to see more, actually. So that's a win.
Thursday is also a challenge because I have to be at the pickup site for our Winter Harvest buying club at 4:30 to help sort orders. Is a good deal: it will drag me out of the store earlier, I'll pick up the food in a timely fashion, and we'll get a break on the cost of the food.
Today as I reached the park entrance someone pulled up and leaned over as if to offer me a ride. She was in a truck, and I couldn't see her very well. I jerked my thumb and said, "I'm going in the woods!" Then I puzzled over this for a bit. Was it a lift she was offering, or directions she wanted that I didn't give? She didn't roll down her window. Who was she? Ah well, I'm known in the neighborhood.
That first wooded slope was like my own personal cathedral. Every step a prayer to my body for health. Golden-brown leaves drifted all down, swirling and floating on the wind, falling in my hair. Rounding a slope, I noticed giant brown leaves littering the ground and sunlight on my face. The woods are starting to open up to winter-bare branches (a time I also love). The ground is thick with a slippery brown carpet that keeps the mud from the weekend's rain from drying out. Giant compound leaves of devil's walking stick are reddish purple at the base. They will leave a tall, prickly bare stick behind. Beech leaves are vivid green veins and gold tips fading to brown. In winter they hang on as silvery remnants, fluttering and rustling in the wind. More and more I feel I know this place. Robins and chickadees commented on my passage.
I'm getting resigned to only being able to do a morning walk during the short days of the year. This morning I was calculating how long it would take to do another 100 days. At 5 days/week I'm thinking end of March, perhaps into April, though I'd need a bad weather indoor exercise backup plan. Also started calculating how many days I'd be able to do by mid-June which would take me to a whole year of walking. Then I remembered gardening. My garden got hideously neglected this summer, but I'm sure I'll want to try again this spring. Ah well. Flexibility is key.
The thing I'm really wondering is how I will feel over time as I endure. How much will I need to push in order to take on new challenges and not get bored? Will I get faster? Will that hill get even easier? Will I remember how hard things once were?
I see my doctor tomorrow for a physical. I was supposed to go last spring, but I was feeling cruddy and never scheduled that visit. I totally manipulate the dates I go in for checkups to reflect when I'm feeling good. No, I won't neglect to go in for an immediate issue -- but I'll probably see someone else. For an actual long visit with my regular physician, I'm trying to present my best side. Despite the stupid flareups, I'm feeling pleased by what I have to report.