With summer approaching, we’re all beginning to make plans to spend with family and friends, enjoying nature and basking in the warm, sun-soaked air. Many of us are adapting to what a different type of summer will look like, spending more time doing activities that are still socially distant while taking advantage of warm, summer weather, and time with loved ones.
It may take us all to hit that “reset” button and re-imagine those activities that we once held so dear; things like going to the beach, visiting the lake and heading to the fair, and finding ways to recreate those moments while still at home. However, we've done that already in many areas: online schooling, socializing on Zoom, graduation car parades, music concerts on porches, and meeting for walks in nature keeping our safe distancing.
I had one big goal for the last six months-get myself ready to enjoy a week-long hiking trip with a group of friends. We were planning to go to Lake Superior Provincial Park in the first week of July. With travel between Canada and the states not looking too promising, we are considering a change in venue. We're still hopeful that we can do some sort of trip this summer as things are allowed to open up again. However, if that isn't able to happen, I intend to still enjoy the hikes and camping closer to home.
Those of us with fibromyalgia have had to learn how to re-imagining fun in ways that are accessible and adaptable, so for us, this is already a way of life! We long ago learned that you can have enjoy time with family and friends while finding creative ways to keep ourselves pain-free, happy, and safe.
Summer fun doesn’t have to be an expensive beach trip or a cross-country vacation. Summer fun can be as simple as taking up gardening and learning the joy of planting tender flowers and plants and watching them grow; it can be outdoor camping trips in your own backyard, with gooey s’mores and flashlight scary stories; family baking competitions and sleepovers with grandkids; summer fun can be local hiking and a built-in science lesson with foraging for edible plants and berries. It can be a drive-in movie, a kayak on a local lake, or a picnic on the bank of a river with your partner. Finding fun and creativity while staying local and safe (using the updated COVID-19 guidelines) is doable if you think outside the box and look for ways to bond with your family while learning and doing things that are exciting and rewarding.
Once the world does open back up, you’re going to want to live life to the fullest, getting out and doing all those things you’ve always enjoyed. Being active and social is the most fun of all. Being mindful of getting over-tired and not ignoring your pain is the best way to make sure you don’t experience burnout. Looking after your health with a nutritious diet and helpful supplements is another way to stay strong, happy and healthy. There are many products on the market, such as Caduceus Science, such as their full-spectrum CBG/CBD tinctures that help those with fibromyalgia naturally and easily keep themselves in tip-top shape and feeling energized while limiting pain.
Fibromyalgia doesn’t have to mean missing out on fun times with family. Even those bike rides, long hikes, and swimming adventures can be enjoyed as long as we take the time to look after our needs, listen to our bodies (now more than ever), and be mindful. A lesson many are learning that we already know: adaptation is the key to fun, happiness, and living FULLY!
With a little creativity, and as always, listening to our bodies, we’re on our way to having a wonderful summer! Let’s go have some fun!
How are you reimagining this summer? Are you missing anything? Are you changing plans? Are you coming up with replacements?
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Typically I head home to Ontario to escape the heat and humidity of Taiwan during summer, but with COVID19, this will be my first hot, sweaty summer in Taiwan since 2013. I'm going to miss cottage country like crazy this year. It's too hot here to do much of anything without ramping my fibro up. It really likes to act up during the heat and humidity and rain, so we'll try our best to take advantage of bearable days and, unfortunately, indoor AC whenever we can get it. These are times when I wished I lived in Canada again.
ReplyDeleteI can understand. Michigan has weather much like Ontario. We are just warming up enough to swim. It's not humid. I've experienced that type of hot when I was in Malaysia. It made me feel like I couldn't get enough air.
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