Today is the second day of winter. Yesterday was the darkest day of the year. So now I guess we are starting in the other direction, moving toward the days getting longer. I'm all for that! I've probably expressed this before - but I am no fan of winter. My body locks up when I go out in the cold and I feel like once I get chilled it takes forever to warm up again. When I go out I wear a super warm coat, ski gloves, a scarf I can use as a hat and I even wear socks to the office because I don't want my little tootsies to get chilled. I wear layers so I stay toasty warm and when I'm at home, there is always a blanket nearby that I can wrap around me if I'm sitting and reading or watching TV.
There is something, though, about a crisp, sunny, winter day that is very special. I love those days when the wind isn't blowing and there isn't a cloud in the sky. If I'm dressed for the weather it can be exhilarating to take a walk and breathe in the cool, crisp winter air. I like to take my dog out on days like that because I know he loves it, too. He prances alongside me like he hasn't a care in the world and I must be the biggest fool on earth not to enjoy every minute outdoors, the way he does! I don't get it that his feet don't get cold when after fifteen minutes my toes have gone numb, regardless of how I've bundled them up. I slather my dry and painful skin with healing potions and the dog runs around in his bare feet in the snow and does just fine. Ridiculous.
I'm often asked it the weather affects my fibro and the answer is, yes. Any extremes and my energy plummets. I love those 70 degree days with a slight breeze. Three hundred and sixty-five of those would suit me just fine. But, that's not where I live and I am not a person who can pick up and leave everything behind, even if it means I'll have some better days. I adore being near family, friends and my own history. I have lots of wonderful memories of being out in the winter cold as a kid and having a ball. I remember skating on the river in our local park and the hut where we would go to warm ourselves by the fire. I remember playing in the woods behind the house where I grew up and carrying my skates in case there was a good size puddle that had frozen over. I recall wanting to be outside and hating that it got dark early and I had to come back in for dinner. But now I'm a sissy when it comes to the cold and I accept that, even as I remember the days when that wasn't so.
There is something, though, about a crisp, sunny, winter day that is very special. I love those days when the wind isn't blowing and there isn't a cloud in the sky. If I'm dressed for the weather it can be exhilarating to take a walk and breathe in the cool, crisp winter air. I like to take my dog out on days like that because I know he loves it, too. He prances alongside me like he hasn't a care in the world and I must be the biggest fool on earth not to enjoy every minute outdoors, the way he does! I don't get it that his feet don't get cold when after fifteen minutes my toes have gone numb, regardless of how I've bundled them up. I slather my dry and painful skin with healing potions and the dog runs around in his bare feet in the snow and does just fine. Ridiculous.
I'm often asked it the weather affects my fibro and the answer is, yes. Any extremes and my energy plummets. I love those 70 degree days with a slight breeze. Three hundred and sixty-five of those would suit me just fine. But, that's not where I live and I am not a person who can pick up and leave everything behind, even if it means I'll have some better days. I adore being near family, friends and my own history. I have lots of wonderful memories of being out in the winter cold as a kid and having a ball. I remember skating on the river in our local park and the hut where we would go to warm ourselves by the fire. I remember playing in the woods behind the house where I grew up and carrying my skates in case there was a good size puddle that had frozen over. I recall wanting to be outside and hating that it got dark early and I had to come back in for dinner. But now I'm a sissy when it comes to the cold and I accept that, even as I remember the days when that wasn't so.
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