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Health & Fitness

'Booming' Through Winter With a Positive View

Winter is not our favorite season. A little Internet research and we discovered that being cold is NOT a sign of us Boomers having bad circulation or of premature aging!

 

We have to be honest here: Winter is not our favorite season.

Both of us separately lived in cold (very cold!) snow country in previous years. We have paid our dues to what a “real winter” feels like, and last winter we even had a bit of fun during the brief Atlanta snowstorm. So you would think that this milder winter climate of Atlanta would almost go unnoticed to us…not!

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A little Internet research surfaced an article on the “Science of the Cold” where we discovered that being cold is NOT a sign of us Boomers having bad circulation, or of premature aging. In fact, we are essentially (a little fanfare please!) “Tropical Animals." Yes -- now that’s what we’re talking about!

“Humans are essentially tropical animals and are not equipped to deal with even mild cold. That we can live in cold climates is a result of behavioral adaptations such as wearing appropriate clothing and building shelters….”

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And, we might add, by overcoming common sense! Bodies hunched to keep warm, numb faces, slurred words from frozen lips, zero color coordination, and so many layers we forgot what we put on three layers ago!

We positively love spring in Atlanta! The mid-day warm spring sun encourages us that summer is just around the corner. Piedmont Park on our bikes and picture taking at the Atlanta Botanical Garden are both part of our editorial calendar and a must for the season.

Summer sends long daylight hours our way, giving us more time to play. The Fourth of July finds us sidestepping all the discarded paper cups as we walk-run the course of the Peachtree Road Race; and summer just wouldn’t be summer without a family trip to watch the Stone Mountain Laser Show.

Fall days often give us a lingering warmth, reminding us of our summer pleasures. We still have plenty of time to be outdoors before the cool evenings take over.  September means taking in all the sights and sounds of the Duluth Fall Festival, and October finds us taking pleasurable nature walks around the lake at Stone Mountain.

All this enjoyment culminates in the wonderful holiday season with family and friends, ending just as winter sets in -- what to do until our beloved spring arrives?

So here’s the plan. This winter we have already placed positive targets along our path, carrots to motivate us and spur us on through this winter’s journey: We joined a gym just around the corner, Planet Fitness, where we make dates with each other to work out; we joined a winter tennis team, generating enough physical activity to keep our blood flowing even on the coldest day; we scheduled a trip to Arizona to visit Dad in a few weeks; and we will be celebrating Bill’s 65th birthday with family and friends in mid-February.

Top this off with a three-day weekend at the beach in March with warm breezes, seagulls and rhythmic waves to surround us.  

Oh yeah, and just sharing this with all our readers is pretty good winter medicine as well. Spring here we come!

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