Seasons change...

... and so do I.

If you said, "No Time by The Guess Who, 1969," you get 50 bonus points.

Do you feel the change?  Spring has slipped away and we are now officially into summer.  Here in the Tropical Tip, it has felt like summer for months.  Well, it has been hot and humid for months.  I feel like I lost about a month of it while being house-bound after the big cut.  For the last 3 to 4 weeks I have been able to get outside... and it has been hot and humid almost all of that time.  Although we did have about 20 minutes of 78º temperature during a change of wind direction a few days ago.  Then, it was back into the upper 80s within an hour.

Looking at our forecast for the next 10 days, it is like an endless loop: high of 90º, low of 82º, humid, wind out of the southeast at 10 to 30 mph.  Take today: the high will be around 90º (duh), but it will "feel like" somewhere on the far side of 110º.  In the shade.  Wind is 24mph out of the southeast, gusting to 31.

My morning and evening walks are not bad, but trying to walk mid-day turns one into a sweatball within 30 seconds.  That's why we get out of here during the summer.  Except for this year.  Negotiations, however, are on-going.

Now, about that whole "Summer Solstice" thing: it is the longest day of daylight in the northern hemisphere, occurring "around June 20 to 21st."  Often called "the longest day of the year," but that is a misnomer: the day has the same 24 hours in it as usual... it just has more time of daylight than the rest of the year.  The Earth will begin its seasonal tilt in relation to the sun once again, and we'll lose a couple minutes of daylight each day from now until the Winter Solstice.  Those in the northern latitudes will have more minutes of daylight than those of us who are closer to the equator... but, that evens out during the winter when we have more minutes of daylight.  Mother Nature is kind of an equal opportunity provider with this.  Well, with the daylight... obviously not with the "feels like" temperatures.

You do have to take "feels like" into account... today, I "feels like" having some BBQ for lunch!  ;-)

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Other changes: when lunch time rolled around, Joan suggested Italian; I am easily swayed.  When we got back from lunch, I was in need of some scooter time.  Yes, still hot, humid, and windy, but my plan was for just riding around our resort (village).  Riding by a friend's house, I saw him wave from his window - I swung the scoot around and stopped to visit with him.

This friend had hip surgery 3 days after I did.  He was up walking after the first week; driving shortly after that.  It seemed that he was doing a LOT better than me, and sooner.  In fact, he felt guilty (his words) when we first compared conditions after surgery that he was doing so much better than me.  I told him, "You know, when I said I was happy that you were doing so well, it wasn't just words - I truly was glad for you.  Not so glad for me, but definitely glad for you."

It was interesting to compare notes again, 6 weeks later (it is 8 weeks today since my cut).  From the conversation, I am doing at least as good, if not better.  Yes, I know: everyone's recovery is different.  The difference: I have been doing the exercises and the daily walking (still 3 times a day).  He only did the exercises while the PT person was there; hasn't done any since.  We are both moving around reasonably decent.  He said to me, "The biggest issue I am having is the pain - I didn't expect it to still hurt."

"Me, too.  But, it is getting less.  Not fast enough, but definitely less."

Yeah, I know: don't compare.  But, it was good to talk to someone who has been in roughly the same situation.  And to know that the exercises and walking are paying off.  And I plan to keep at it.