Before May started, here’s what it looked like:

• 2nd Coronavirus vaccine shot planned for May 13
• Puppy arrival planned for May 15, the 1-year mark since Mom’s passing. This was intentional! She so loved animals!
• Kick the houseplants out onto the front porch
• Some yardwork including planting the veg garden
• Celebrate Steve’s birthday
• Enjoy everything greening and lots of things blooming
• Walk more, sit and stew less, inside
• Apprehension at the 1-year anniversary of the George Floyd death and related events/fallout
• Apprehension, but generally hopefulness about the pandemic

At the other end of May, now, here’s how it looks:

• All of the above, including the forecasted lack of sleep due to an infant/toddler type creature in our family, now
• But I’ll reiterate that sleep deprivation bit. 2 nights ago we graduated from multiple 2 hour to 3 hour sleeps at night, due to getting Rollo the Standard Poodle out to pee and get snuggles
• Steve and I have both lost some weight, not from chasing doggo but because in late April I opted in to a 5-week women’s health program that drastically altered what both of us ate and drank. The program, led by one of my favorite yoga teachers/Ayurveda specialists, Lisa Bracken, was designed to mitigate peri/menopause symptoms and give women of a certain age an assist with nutrient absorption and general wellbeing. It involved a vegan, no coffee, no alcohol, no processed flours or sugars diet, but also some careful attention to timing of meals, exercise and sleep.
• Steve is always amazingly supportive and our usual M.O. of planning meals and shopping every 2 weeks or so was mainly why we ate similarly. However, he was additionally incentivized. The proposed diet looked like it may help him lose some weight and perhaps also lower his blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 2/3 of those are happening for sure. Rollo may be helping with the lowered blood pressure!
• I’d love to say my hot flashes have dissipated, but they aren’t even regular enough to tell.
• The removal of so many inflammatory foods and drinks seems to have reduced a few of my annoying aches and pains. Yay!
• We are sticking with the diet for another month, though I’m allowing 1 inflammatory food item per day – a sweet, maybe a cup of coffee or a beer. We may have bacon for breakfast, this Saturday. 🎉🎉🎉

• Rollo is helping us continue with the short post-meal walks we started on the program, which ended last week. This strategic food and movement nutrient dayparting is clutch – and a lot it is detailed in this great book, Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life. Read it and change, if you’re looking for change!

There is no way we could have pulled any of these lifestyle changes off, were we still visiting restaurants and bars with wild abandon, like before the pandemic. I won’t go so far as to be grateful to this 2021 social situation, but it’s worth acknowledging the power and use of a big shake-up.

Let’s hope public health keeps improving and we can gather with friends and strangers again, soon!