Compost Studios

Since the last week in August, we’ve had the most incredible weather—sunny and bright.

But the honeymoon is over. Today I woke up and it was so dark and overcast that the streetlights were still on at 7:45 a.m. when I walked the kids to the bus stop. I just checked the long-term forecast online and saw an unending stream of gray clouds and rain icons stretching through the next ten days.

This week I pulled out my Columbia parka to get me through the chilly mornings, but unfortunately I wasn’t wearing it on Monday when the school bus failed to show up. We ended up standing at the bus stop for nearly an hour because the school had assured us that there would only be a 20 minute delay. I was clad in a turtleneck and sweatshirt and the temperature was 41 degrees. By the time a neighbor decided to drive the kids to school, my back was as cold and lifeless as a frozen turkey.

I took off on a brisk walk thinking that would warm me up, rev up my circulation, and soften the knots along my spine. Instead, after an hour of walking, I felt my back working its way into spasms. Mounting the stairs leading up to the house, I felt a jolt of pain with each step.

I thought of my chiropractor’s warnings not to let my back get cold, that the change of seasons would be hard on my joints. I grabbed a Therma-Care wrap and stuck it on my low back, which was so tight I couldn’t bend over to untie my shoes. The heat worked wonders—better than any drug. Twelve hours after I put the patch on, it was still warm and I couldn’t believe how much better I felt. I never wanted to take it off.

Tonight as I was checking the weather and saw nothing but gray skies in the forecast, I noticed a button for an “Aches and Pains” index on Weather.com. Honestly, I thought it was a joke. I clicked on it, and OMG, it’s for real. It displayed the weather for Brussels along with a numerical rating predicting the likelihood of joint pain based on temperature, humidity, wind, and atmospheric pressure changes. I wanted to laugh but the truth is I’m fascinated.

The index doesn’t indicate I have much to worry about this weekend, but you can bet I’ll be paying attention next Monday when the pain forecast hits 10. Will my back obey the laws of computer-generated risk analysis and lay me low or will it be just another day with scoliosis?

Stay tuned!

October 19, 2005