Column: Daily walks, enriching weekends, and a bite of cheese

One of the hardest parts of returning to my school-year schedule is keeping up the self-care I have so much more time for in the summer.

I’m not talking about pampering myself; though I’m certainly not against doing that. I am talking about maintaining my physical and mental health. During the summer break from my  job as a school librarian, I sleep more. I spend plenty of time outside. Walking daily becomes a habit. I cook with fresh, local ingredients and take time to enjoy my meals.

Then, quite abruptly, I start waking up five times a night because I’m so stressed with all that has to be done at the start of the school year. I start eating lunch at my desk again. One day I was so busy with various meetings I didn’t get to eat a midday meal or go for a walk.

The day before, I’d been responsible for putting out a continental breakfast for yet another meeting. I’d stored leftovers in the school office refrigerator, and let members of the group know they were there. As I drove back to the school from a meeting out of the district, all I could think was, “Let there be one of those little cheeses left. I only need one.”

There was, and it saw me through until supper.

This year, I am trying harder than ever to avoid days like that one. I’m trying to walk every day. It won’t be easy. There was a time in my life when I would get up at 4 to put in my steps, but those days are gone. This morning I was sound asleep, totally oblivious to the world, when my alarm went off at 5:30, which is the absolute latest rising time for me.

I could walk after school, but on some days I have meetings, and when I don’t I am probably writing a column. And by the time I’ve made dinner and fed our menagerie, I am too tired to walk.

If I am going to walk daily, it has to be at lunchtime. Though I have vowed before to stop eating at my desk, I have yet to succeed. At least that bad habit gives me time to walk. I’m not able to do a full half-hour walk, but 20 minutes is doable. On most days. Hopefully.

I’m not fond of goal setting. It feels constrictive to me. So, walking daily is not my goal. I am simply continuing a healthy summer habit. Through hell or high water.

It has been working so far, except for my “cheese” day and a day that students were released early so staff could participate in professional development activities. One day I did have to walk inside due to rain, but I still did it.

I am also trying to have enriching weekends, like I do in the summer. Last year, I was sometimes so exhausted at the end of the week that I didn’t want to do much of anything. Now I realize that getting out and about is refreshing.

Quite a few intelligent movies have been released in recent months, so my husband, Paul, and I have regularly visited our local independent theater. Some of my favorites have been “Will You Be My Neighbor?,” “The Bookshop,” and “The Wife.”

We hit a trifecta of college art museums this summer. Bowdoin, Bates and Colby all had interesting exhibits, and all are free. We also saw some great shows at the Farnsworth in Rockland. We will continue our museum-going as the weather turns colder.

I am trying to make my daily walks interesting. The middle/high school, where my office is located, adjoins a nature preserve, so even though I stick to the paved drives I am walking by groves of trees and swaths of wildflowers. Just recently I watched as four hawks circled over the woods.

If I’m traveling from one school to another, I might stop at our local rail trail, which runs along a river, for my lunchtime stroll.

But I do look forward to my weekend walks on the coast. Not all towns have harborside pathways, but my favorite is a short drive away. There are pocket parks and small beaches along this trail as well. Paul and I have taken to sitting and just watching all of the activity on the working waterfront after we finish our walk. Sometimes we bring our books. It is the perfect antidote to a busy week.

Of course, we won’t be able to sit outside much longer. It seems like we went from 80 degrees and muggy to 60 and chilly within a week. But I will continue to walk outside as long as possible. It’s not the cold that will hinder me; it will be the ice.

Perish the thought. October has just begun. And fall is a beautiful season—especially since I am taking my summer joys along with me as I head into it.