Fun in the sun!

     Yes! Summer has finally arrived in Vermont!  What I love about summer in terms of my RA is that I can wear nice loose clothing and flip flops!! Yes, flip flops.  My feet are always so painful that regular shoes are pure torture.  I recently read that properly fitted flip flops (not entirely sure what that means...) are just as good as any other shoe for people who have serious foot issues like bunions, etc. I was so glad to hear that and of course I shared that with my rheumatologist at my last visit.  So now I can wear them and actually not feel I am doing harm.
     As to clothes, the only drawback about wearing summer clothes is that I am not where I want to be weight-wise and the summer clothes tend to be a bit more body revealing than a big loose sweater or hoodie in the winter months.  That aside, it is sooo nice to get up in the morning and have such nice easy clothes to wear.  I also like that summer sleepwear is thinner and more comfortable which is nice when I am flaring as I am now and so as little fabric resting on those joints is just what I need if I am to get any sleep at all.
     One of my favorite parts of summer is that we have our screened in back porch all set up and we are surrounded by a wooded center court right in the middle of our neighborhood so it is like being in a tree house!

     I like to be out there as much as possible, eating our meals, reading, listening to the summer sounds of the birds, folks tending their yards, watching the sunset behind the trees.  It really is my own personal guided imagery come to life!  That certainly is helpful when the frustration and pain are ratcheting up and I know I can go to my "serene" place, both physically and mentally.
     I do wish we had better access to bike paths because I would love to do that more often this time of year.  I really am looking forward to my annual visit to my brother's home in Rhode Island where I will have both bike paths and the beach!!!  I simply love the beach and find it to be the single most wonderful part of summer vacation for me.
     I love to go to Horseneck beach in MA as it is very peaceful and beautiful and the ocean sounds are nice and loud just the way I like it!

     If I could I would love to spend 6 months at a beach and the other 6 months up North but Florida is just not appealing to my husband and me so where we end up retiring is still very much up in the air as we would like to be near our sons and they are far from settled in to a permanent home base.  Time will tell.  One thing I do worry about is finding the right rheumatologist when that time comes.  I have built, brick by brick, a wonderful, collaborative relationship with my current doc. and I hate the idea of starting over.  It makes me nervous just considering it!  I hope that when that time comes, folks I have "met" online will offer some suggestions.   
     The heat, actually the humidity of summer is really hard on my joints.  Much more so than the cold, oddly enough.  I find that I am more stiff and uncomfortable when the humidity and heat are high.  In the winter the cold and low humidity keep my joints from swelling.
     I also am loving all of the fresh produce this time of year....the strawberries are in at the moment and they are so juicy and sweet they are to die for!  So I tend to eat more healthy in the summer which is definitely beneficial to my RA.

     I hope you all have a healthy, delightful, relaxing summer!
Nan