Autumn

The autumnal equinox was this past Saturday. The Earth's axis and its orbit were lined up so that both northern and southern hemispheres of our human plagued planet got amounts of sunlight. Here in Boston it’s now fall OR pumpkin spice season if you’re so inclined.

The weather’s changing—of course it fucking is! What this means, specifically, is that I’m cold ALL the damn time and, even when I’m not hungry, I feel like noshing (or at least snacking). This a sad constant—not good. I’m now so close to my weight loss goal. It’s not the time to 24/7 stuff myself with pasta, pizza, cakes and cannolis.

What can I do to combat my ravenous appetite and the annoying cold? For starters I can switch out the contents of my dresser drawers. It’s time to load in the sweatshirts, turtlenecks, long sleeve Ts and socks. Not only does this mean I’ll be warmer, wearing more seasonally appropriate clothing, I’ll also get in some decent balance exercise. Ya know, bending, gathering, standing, stretching and all that. It’s stunning, to me anyway, how much strength and balance is required to do even the most mundane of tasks.

Pearls Before Swine

I’ve become accustomed to doing little more than sitting around (in bed or my big green comfy chair) reading. Being physically unstable (i.e., a colossal fall risk) has dovetailed neatly with my inherent laziness. Now that I can do more, I NEED to do more. Use it or lose it and all that.

The ultimate key to not being cold is getting my ass up and moving. I can elliptical, do my myriad PT exercises, some minor housecleaning and, if the weather’s not awful, take walks.

Sadly, we’re now in the 537th straight day of rain and high winds (OK, it feels like it's been 537 days!). There are whitecaps (fer fuck’s sake!) on our normally calm, placid bay. It’s a measly 58º outside now! Yes I know, come January, 58º will feel positively tropical. Well, it’s not winter yet—summer was just last week, goddamnit.

Enough kvetching. Time to get dressed and head out to my physical therapy appointment. Joy.