First snow & feeling dumb

I’m padding around in my sweatpants, slippers and two oversized shirts … Trying to stay warm.

The crockpot is firing on all cylinders as the smell of tonight’s chili dinner fills the house.

The dogs are dozing nearby, tired from this morning’s antics.

My snow boots are positioned by the back door for my next trip outside to shake Colorado’s first snow of the season off the trees. The heavy, wet snow has weighed down limbs on our pine, ash and aspen trees. People on the neighborhood Listserve are reporting many trees have been damaged while others are without power in their homes because of downed lines.

And, the canyon The Weed and I drove through yesterday, checking out the fall colors a last time, was closed for several hours this morning because officials couldn’t get snowplows up the icy roads to help stranded motorists.

It’s official: Mother Nature has pitched her first serious snow for 2017.

Oct. 9 seems a bit early, I think. If I had my way, we would live in permanent fall where leaves on the trees turned from green to gold to red to orange and back again. They would never fall to the ground. Pumpkins and Indian corn would be displayed on my patio 24/7. (First World problem: Indian corn is difficult to find these days. I visited four stores this year before breaking down and paying far too much for several ears at Whole Foods. One should never have to buy household decor at Whole Foods.)

Simply put, I live for fall.

I love when the first wave of cooler temperatures arrives, beating back summer heat. I can usually tell a change of season is underway when the dogs start sniffing the air more frequently and losing their summer coats all over my just vacuumed carpets.

I am fortunate to live in a state where such a change is noticeable and appreciated.

For about five years, The Weed and I lived in a suburb of Phoenix. The seasonal shift in Arizona is not so noticeable. It goes from I’m just going to curl up and die around this giant cactus hot to The asphalt isn’t burning through the soles of my shoes not-so hot.

Spring in Arizona is pretty OK but, in my mind, nothing beats fall in Colorado. That’s why I was working so hard to move the wet, heavy snow off our trees. In doing so, however, I was quickly reminded I’m not as nimble as I used to be.

As I hoisted our large red push broom above my head, trying to remove snow from the limbs of our ash tree in the front yard, I realized it wasn’t so easy. My right arm really hurt and the muscles across my chest were stretched tight. I was breathing hard and feeling dumb. Ugh.

Since last year’s axillary lymph node dissection, lifting my right arm above my shoulder is a bit of a challenge. Trying to move the heavy broom along the tree limbs, while avoiding the avalanche coming down from above, wasn’t an easy feat.

So, I stood under the tree and rested a bit. Then, I stretched my hand above my head and flexed it into a fist a few times.

Eventually, my muscles relaxed and the arm didn’t hurt as much. Tomorrow, I might be a little sore but that’s a new normal.

I will visit a lymphedema specialist early next month. I suspect the tightness and occasional swelling in my arm are signs of early lymphedema issues. Fortunately, the symptoms aren’t terrible. A little soreness. A little restricted mobility.

To help with these early signs, I do stretches like walking my arm up a wall; raising my hand above my head and twisting it in circles; and, when I’m in the shower, I stand so hot water beats beneath my outstretched arm and push my hand, arm as high as possible above my head.

I don’t yet have a compression sleeve but hope to be fitted for one soon. I’m told the compression will help when I’m exercising or traveling in a car or plane.

That’s that. The snow has started to slow. My arm doesn’t hurt as much as it did this morning.

And, I’m really hungry for a bowl of hot chili.

The first serious snow of the season landed in Colorado today. I’ve been working to remove the wet, heavy accumulations from our tree limbs, an activity that can be hard following last year’s axillary lymph node dissection.

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Tomorrow, I will meet my new oncologist. So, I’m not sure if I will be able to blog. If not, I will catch up with you Wednesday.

Have a nice few days … Thanks for reading! ~Kelley