Snow, Hail, Sunshine...

I have been having a great few weeks! I am cautiously optimistic about this though. The last few times I got overzealous about feeling good, I crashed pretty hard soon after. I spent the first week or so tentatively feeling about my limits - can I skip a nap, walk up the hill instead of drive, get more than one chore done per day? In my flair-ups, if I tried any of these things during a good spell, I'd crash immediately after. So you can see why I was a little hesitant to push anything to far.

So far, I haven't tanked out. I have been pushing a little farther each day. I started working out at the gym, and swimming up at the pool. (I figure I should probably get myself into shape for that triathlon and bike ride...) I have been doing laundry and cleaning my house. Those are things I haven't done in months! I know you're probably getting a great mental image after that last statement, but fortunately, we've had many, many generous and wonderful people helps us out this last year. Even with the laundry and house cleaning.

So now that I have been plugging along for the last few weeks and seemingly making progress, I am upgrading myself from cautiously optimistic to hopefully excited. And that leads me to the title of this post.

We've had the wackiest weather here in the Northwest lately. Yesterday, the morning started out dark and gloomy, and at one point, it actually snowed for a bit. Not too long after that, we had a 45 minute long hail shower. It was actually kind of pretty (until you stuck your nose out in it and got frost bit!). I had the whole day pegged in my mind. It was a stay indoors and lament the loss of Spring sort of day.

But then, just when I had given up the idea of venturing outside, the sun peeked out. An hour later, the sky was the most beautiful, clear blue with a scattering of fluffy white clouds. And the best part, when you stepped outside, it wasn't cold anymore. It was that sink into your skin all the way down to your bones kind of warmth that you can only get from finding that perfect spot in the sun. The kind of warm sunniness that makes me think cats may be the smartest of us all.

So next time I do have a flair-up, and it seems like it's lasting forever, I'll remember the way that sun felt. I felt it warmer and deeper and more clearly because I was coming out of the hail and snow.