Behind the Ironic Column

I foget what  P stands for in the periodic table.  (My chemistry classes were long ago)   But I’m using it to stand for the spring and summertime “vitamin” of pollen.  It’s the one you get as a side effect if you’re out trying to get a dose of the very important sunshine vitamin — Vitamin D.  It seems like every time I pick up a newpaper or magazine lately there’s an article about needing to get more vitamin D.  And the prime source is sunshine.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, sun isn’t something we see a lot of during the winter months.  And when we do see it, it’s usually during the height of what should be a work day. 

Still, some of us have a tendency to sneak off for a long lunch break in the park (never mind that the benches are wet from last night’s rain and the ground is muddy) or discover that we have to go to a meeting across town.  Waiting for a bus has great benefit when you do it on a sunny sidewalk.  And maybe even pass up the first two or three that come along.  No rush — the meeting won’t be all that interesting anyway. 

A lot of my work time is spent in front of a computer and I often have the luxury of working from home.  I have a plan for the day, which generally involves sitting in front of a screen for x number of hours.  But the sun tends to disrupt that schedule.  In my rooms, the sun only shines in during a small window of time in the spring.  Later on the trees outside and the angle of the sun conspire to keep it out.  But now, at the very beginning of spring, it lights up the room and seduces me into sitting in the alcove by the window.  Nowhere near where my computer is, of course.  And the glare would be too much if I tried to use my laptop here — no point in even thinking about it.  What I can do is enjoy the sun, watch the hummingbirds zooming around the feeder, and pretend that I’m planning for my next project. 

Going outside to get sun brings me back to Vitamin “P” and the one drawback to spring sun.  I’m very sensitive to tree pollen — exactly the thing that’s tossed about on every breeze this time of year.  Even when you can’t see the trees doing their thing, the tiny flowers on the maples are there.  On the whole, the Vitamin D and the sheer joy of springtime more than make up for dealing with the excess of Vitamin P.   The clouds and rain will be back soon enough — good weather is not guaranteed this time of year.  Then I’ll work more diligently to make up for time spent on vitamins now. 

Trackback URI | Comments RSS