Monday, January 10, 2011

2011 Journey - Chill Out!

In my post HAPPY New Year!, I listed nine items that Real Simple magazine discussed in its article "Nine Ways to Be Happier" in the January issue. The second Monday of every month through September, I'll write about each:


JANUARY - Chill out.
FEBRUARY - Remember whence you came.
MARCH - Don't dwell.
APRIL - Spread the wealth.
MAY - Eat a snack around 2 p.m.
JUNE - Get a move on.
JULY - Limit your options.
AUGUST - Start baking.
SEPTEMBER - Make your bed.
OCTOBER - To be announced! (In other words, I'll make one up.)
NOVEMBER - Ditto.
DECEMBER - Ditto.

CHILL OUT. Believe it or not, the article is not talking about "chilling out" in the sense of staying calm, or not getting stressed, etc. It means chilling out in the literal sense - staying cool.  According to the article, researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that blowing cold air up participants' noses put them in a better frame of mind than did blasts of hot air.

Now that I have entered that dreaded stage I discussed in my Hold On! post, I wholeheartedly agree! This has presented an opportunity for a bit of "marital tweaking," as my husband dearly loves to heat our house with a wood burning stove.
What used to be cozy, toasty warm, now inspires me to start removing items of clothing. (Hey . . . maybe that's the whole idea?)

So, at first, rather than put a damper on his spirited fetching of firewood, rather than miss the smile on his face as he enjoys the warmth emanating from the stove, I kept my mouth shut. And, rather than snarling through a hot flash, exacerbated by the wood stove that left heat waves dancing in the air, I took the opportunity to change my perspective. Perhaps the burning in my cheeks and on my neck was simply the blush of love - make that a perpetual blush. Or, I could close my eyes and pretend I was on a beach in the tropics - minus the cool splash of ocean waves. It is, after all, simply a matter of how one looks at things, right?

WRONG.

I couldn't sleep, even in the dead of winter and without covers. I felt sluggish, couldn't work out and had a dull headache much of the time.

When I was finally ready to stop blushing and return from my tropical paradise in the middle of winter, I admitted to my husband that I'd begun having hot flashes. (Don't forget in my Hold On! post, I didn't want to admit to something I'd previously thought was in a woman's head.)

And so, with that little bit of honestly and tweaking, my husband now makes fewer trips to the wood pile and doesn't stoke the wood stove quite as often. I also sleep with the window on my side of the room open.

What a difference the cooler temperatures make. I'm almost back to my normal self, whatever that is. Still, I wouldn't mind joining one of these "chilled out" snow nymphs.

Why, thank my lucky stars . . . there just happens to be snow on the ground this morning. Please excuse me while I go outside to make snow angels . . . minus an item or two of clothing.

Tune in Monday, February 14, when I'll talk about 
"Remember Whence You Came."


1 comment:

  1. I'm going to have to disagree a wee bit. Chilling out is a breeze in the arctic and trust me, you ain't happy about it. I'm glad you and Stephen have worked out the wood stove. Kevin and I have the same issue. I want it to be 90 and he's good with 55. I end up wearing layers and wrapping up in quilts.

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