Overnight, rain fell lightly over Anchorage just enough to wet the ground and wash the roads.  It was so little that if the pavement didn’t show the remnants of moisture I would have missed it.  No matter where you live, though, you know what a rainfall like this can do for springtime, and I can already feel it starting.  It’s like an alarm clock to all the plants, trees, animals, people.  Grass starts to change color from brown to green, trees start to change from buds to leaves, birds sing louder, squirrels chatter more insistently and there is a little more spring in everyone’s steps.

Well, not everyone’s steps, not in mine.  The coming summer months has to kick off with a bit of a confession from my side.  Some of you who known me over the last few years know that prior to this big change of moving to Alaska, my last big change was a big weight loss program I was quite successful at.  Confession is, I back slid.  Not all the way, but far enough that I am realizing this summer is going to be a fight to get the most out of.

The last couple of weeks I am trying to get myself back up to a speed where I can enjoy outdoor activities, and its not going well.  Back pains, ankle and foot soreness, quick exhaustion, and the usual out of breath of an out of shape 40+ year old makes doing anything an ordeal.  What really is fighting me the last couple of weeks are knees that are just not behaving.  There’s some swelling going on down there, in part from lingering Curling injuries (yes, you can get injured from curling) but mostly from how I sit at home and at work, bending them uncomfortably.  After a push the last couple of days to become more active, I laid in bed last night feeling the feet from my knees steaming up under my comforter.

I got to this point for a long list of reasons, which sound like excuses but were more decisions that seemed to make sense at the time.  I ate out a lot when I got to Anchorage because my apartment wasn’t cooking friendly.  I stopped my gym routine, because the pup required me to be home to manage his potty schedule.  I cooked more processed foods & meats because they keep better than the poor quality of fresh veggies and fruit.  I avoided walks during the week, because I wanted my legs fresh for curling on Wednesdays & Fridays.  But in all honesty, I got to this point because the reasons did become excuses.  I wanted a fun life in Alaska, and I ate and sat around more than I needed to in order to make it fun.

So, I am in for a battle this summer – not against bears or moose or wild hunters, but against myself.  I need to turn this corner and get back to feeling like my old “wonderfulman” self of a year ago.  The trick is I am more determined to balance the fun of living here with a healthy lifestyle, and that as hard as it is to live off the grid sometimes.

There, confession over, now I will let you get back to your regularly scheduled complaints about the weather and dog pictures you come to the Bear Feed for. 🙂