Staying healthy in a pandemic

Iceberg Lake with flowers

My friend Carol put this picture on Facebook last week, showing this year's incredible view of Iceberg Lake on the Chain Lakes hike, which I've done many times in the past. She said the flowers are the most prolific she's seen, and I have to agree with her that they are almost unbelievably beautiful. A few times I've gone there on a July day to see the lake still covered with ice (earning its name), but this year there is only a small amount on the far shore. Our hiking group is not meeting for our usual Thursday hikes, but two or three people will get together to enjoy the High Country. We have a Zoom gathering once a week to hear what others are doing during this hiatus from our usual hikes.

The last few years I have found it hard to climb Herman's Saddle in full sun, which is the beginning of this seven-mile-long loop hike. Plenty of elevation gain and a lack of shade makes it challenging for me these days. I remember struggling and find that my ability to do these harder hikes is fading. I am no longer one of the people who looks forward with great pleasure to such strenuous exercise. And I am now limited in distance and difficulty.

It's natural and inevitable as I age that my hiking and walking ability should change. The fact that I can walk or hike seven or eight miles on flat surfaces without a problem should make me happy, but if you add elevation and sunshine into the trip, I am no longer able to keep up. I think I could probably still do this hike on a cool, cloudy day, but I am hesitant to try, since my usual exercise routine has been cut in half during this pandemic. No more daily trips to the gym, strength and tone classes gone, aerobic exercise now limited to neighborhood walks and the occasional outing with my friends Melanie and Dianne. The three of us walked yesterday on the Interurban trail for around six miles. It was easy and the cool weather made us all happy. The sun came out around noon, but the temperature never even reached 70°F, and when the wind came up, I was happy for my jacket. In August!

I have really struggled to find the silver lining in this pandemic. Every morning I drive to the coffee shop, and if the weather allows it, my friend John and I will sit in our lawn chairs outside and enjoy coffee together. Sometimes Gene will join us as well, but it will be a long time before we sit around the community table indoors, given the state of the coronavirus in our state. At least everyone is wearing a mask, or at least almost everyone, and maintaining distancing as required. I consider a few friends to be "family," and when we are alone together, we don't wear masks. They are all, like me, limited in their interactions with others. So far, I haven't known anybody to catch the virus and be hospitalized.

As I've said before, I think both my hubby and I had the virus at the end of March. Our doctors both said to stay home unless we had trouble breathing. SG was the sickest of the two of us, and I think he may have some residual after-effects, but nothing that would cause him to go to the doctor. He had a few telemedicine sessions with his doctor, and she felt that it would be counterproductive for him to come in. I myself had a complete physical, my annual wellness visit, in June, and everything was fine, other than a low white blood count, which resolved in another blood test. My lungs seem to be fine.

The truth is that I am still unwilling to reconcile how much aging has to do with it all. That, and the curtailment of day-long strenuous hikes, has taken its toll. I have learned that one of our hikers had bypass surgery, and he is already back on the trails a month later. He is already doing stuff I can only dream of! But then again, I have learned that you cannot use another person's journey to judge the progress of your own; we are all individuals and must pay attention to how much is just enough in one's quest to be healthy.

Health and good humor are to the human body like sunshine to vegetation. —Massillon

 Oh, yeah: that humor part is essential to one's ability to stay healthy. Some of my blogging friends are including uplifting and humorous sayings to their daily posts, and I look forward to them, since a smile and a chuckle help just about anything. I also feel very fortunate to have discovered both yoga and acupuncture, which seem to help with my everyday moods. A positive attitude goes a long way towards getting through difficulties. And since I have a dear partner to share my life with, a roof over my head, and enough money to buy good food every day, there is little to complain about. Plus, I live in a state that is taking this pandemic seriously and hopefully getting it under control. All reasons to be grateful. We have had 40 people die in Whatcom County from the virus, and almost a thousand cases. Very low in the scheme of things. Something else to give thanks for.

And with that, with my tea long gone, partner still sleeping next to me, it's time to get ready to start the rest of my day. I sincerely hope that you are staying safe during this pandemic, and that you will find someone to share a spot of humor with, or a spot of tea if that is not possible. Don't forget that this too shall pass! Be well, dear friends, until we meet again next week.