Life around here has been off kilter for the last couple of months. It has been busier than I like and more stressful in some ways. Adventure season was shorter than normal this year as I opted to spend more time hiking and less time out running around. That has its pros and cons but the lack of going out and doing and seeing new stuff on Saturdays this fall has given life a different tone.
I completed 75 miles as part of a Fall Hike Challenge over the course of two months. Those miles zig zagged through state parks, state forests and even a couple of nature preserves and mostly onto new trails rather than repeating the same ones as I'm prone to do. That's a great thing.
My annual Christmas weekend with a friend was a bust this year because she got sick at the last minute. I felt bad for her because she was sick and missed out on the fun. While I made the best of the circumstances and went anyway, it would have been more fun with my pal. I haven't told any of the stories from that weekend here and need to do that soon. It was just a couple of days. While I stayed in Ohio's Amish Country, I didn't do much that people traditionally enjoy in Amish Country. Instead, I mostly opted for museums and shopping in surrounding counties. I'm not a fan of that area and have no reason to go back except that I did stay at a lovely bed and breakfast and enjoyed driving some back roads to see beautiful farmland.
The headline lately is that pure and utter exhaustion has set in again along with a number of other issues I now recognize as symptoms of my hypothyroidism. So, it's back to the doctor this week to talk again about how I can't live this way. Thyroid pain and fatigue are real so don't doubt the people in your life who complain about their issues. Waking up in the morning is the hardest thing I do all day unless you count staying awake in the afternoon when my mind and body begin to beg for a nap. Diet does help along with rest, exercise, fluids, LOTS of Vitamin C and a little pill that contributes precious little but is part of the team.
As the holidays approach, so has the cookie baking, rich meals and the comfort foods that make cold weather more pleasant. I'm weighing my options for how I want to retool my diet to better support my thyroid but am putting it off until after all that fun cookie baking is over. I have been down this path before and know exactly what I need to eat but, man, it is hard to keep up with that kind of rigidity seven days a week. When I'm eating for thyroid health, there's no processed food, no sugar or sweeteners of any kind, no dairy, no grains and very small amounts of gluten. I prepare every morsel of food I eat and only drink water. Whipping out a frozen dinner because you're tired after a hard workday is not an option. You use the ingredients you have on hand to whip up a protein, vegetable and healthy fat or just go hungry.
As hard as it is to prepare from scratch every bit of food I eat, it's much easier when my head is in the game.
My head is not currently in the game. But I'll get there.
Meanwhile, the house is decorated and Christmas cards have been mailed. The days are getting shorter but the impending solstice means that we will soon start to gain daylight. I'm engaging in a Winter Hike Challenge. Our goal is fifty miles and we've already completed twelve. I hope to surpass this goal but we'll see what winter brings.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I always hoard vacation time for year end and have a reasonably long break upcoming. It can't come a moment too soon and I''m looking forward to some time to rest, spend at home and maybe even go out on an adventure or two. Once we finish up Christmas, I'll be shifting gears into the next season - my Winter No Spend Challenge when I commit to staying home and using what I already own rather than being on the go so much. This is when I reset my habits for the year opting for rest over running around, for getting creative with ingredients from the back of the pantry instead of shopping and spending more time doing quiet things I truly enjoy - hiking, reading, puzzles, movies and puttering around the house.
This is when I'll buckle down on nutrition and try to get back into some kind of daily exercise habits that support my angry thyroid.
I have big plans but these habits I want to build are manageable because self care and wellness can be the focus of my time. Not to mention, many go together. I'm a fan of habit stacking. When you commit to staying home and resting, it's easier to find time to cook, to sleep, to write, to exercise and to engage in the self care habits you believe are important. When you eat whole foods, your body naturally craves more water and naturally has more energy to propel you into a mindset of wanting to exercise.
See where I'm going with this? You can apply this mindset to your own life as well by studying your own habits and desires to create goals that support each other.
So, this is where I am right now. I'm tired and stretched thin. I have ideas for how I want to be but still have a mountain of work on the job and at home to trudge through before I can get there. That's ok. It just means I'm needed and it means I'll appreciate better days when they arrive.
For this I am grateful.
Tell me, what's happening in your world? Are you stretched thin? Feeling great? Wishing for more time? Tell me all about it!
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