I’ve been pretty open about my following a predictable daily routine. That’s especially true in the morning when I have the most control. After that, I seek routine but always bend to the necessities of the day. I find that I bend a lot more with the progression of Kate’s Alzheimer’s. Her recent changes and the summer weather have made a difference.
As long as I can remember my first order of business has been to eat breakfast. During the past four or five years, I’ve added a daily walk of 2 to 2.5 miles right after breakfast. Over the past few weeks, that’s changed.
I was initially motivated by the weather. The morning temperatures and humidity have been a little warmer than I like, so I decided to walk a little earlier. I tried that, but it was still too warm by the time I reached the mid-point of my walk. That led to what I previously would have thought to be the unthinkable – walking before breakfast. It took me a week to get fully adjusted, but it is working now. That first week I was so accustomed to beginning my other daily activities when I got back from my walk that I forgot to eat breakfast three times. It was only a little later in the morning that I felt unusually hungry. I quickly realized the problem.
One morning I was hotter than usual when I got home from my walk. I decided to cool off in the pool. I was only in the pool about twenty minutes, but I found it a nice way to end a walk, so that has become my new normal. I’m not sure how long I will continue that. I suppose that will be when the water is colder than I like. That shouldn’t be too long. In the meantime, I am enjoying the new routine. I think it may have some therapeutic benefits as well. I’ll say more about that in another post.
With Kate sleeping later than usual, the added stress as she declines, and the increase in the number of desserts we are now eating, I’ve increased the length of my walks. Instead of 2 to 2.5 miles I have gradually increased that to a little over 4 miles. Yesterday it was 4.5 miles. Today it was 4.6 miles. I’m stopping there.
Apart from its stress-reduction value, it also gives me more time for reading (listening). That is especially helpful with longer books. Now I am listening to A Gentleman in Moscow. It would take me 16 days walking my shorter route. My new one will allow me to do it in 12. I should also add that I have dropped almost five pounds. For the past couple of months, I have been five pounds heavier than I like to be. Burning more calories really helps.
