Silver Linings

by Julia Phillips Smith

In the silver linings department, the winter wallop we've had on Canada's east coast this year has led to a health recovery breakthrough for me.

The snow you can see on our roof was from several storms back. A few weeks ago, we had a snow, rain and flash freeze event coupled with high winds. That left us with about a foot of snow on the roof which included about four inches of ice, and no turbine vent, as it had blown off entirely, leaving an uncovered opening in the roof with more snow on the way.

We had roofing people spend several hours breaking up the ice and shoveling the snow off of the house, with some of it landing on our back deck. We were thrilled with the job they did, and did not ask them to clear the deck as they'd worked incredibly hard all day, while keeping our front entrance completely clear.

However, with my husband recovering from having his appendix removed last month, and my mom dealing with hip issues, there was only me to clear the ice chunks and snow from the back deck before more rain would have put the integrity of the deck at risk.

You may recall that I'm in recovery myself from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and a straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back exposure from 2013. I've spent all of last year learning how to listen to my body when it sends out signals that it needs to rest, after spending a lifetime ignoring them in order to get things done.

For example, these days it often takes me three tries to empty and then refill the dishwasher, as lifting the dishes and putting them in the cupboard triggers intense fatigue and causes my body pain to spike. By spreading the event into manageable pieces, I can get the job done without making myself pay for it later.

When it came to the ice and snow on the back deck, however, there was a time frame problem. The deck had to be cleared in two days. I set aside my new 'listen-to-my-body-signals' approach and used my old 'blinders-on' thing. I pushed way past my pain and fatigue levels and got the deck cleared of the heavy ice.

Of course, this worked up quite a sweat. For someone like me, whose body harbors trapped chemical toxins in a misguided attempt to protect me from exposure to them, this has resulted in a spontaneous detoxing event.

Strangely enough, I've been scheduled to receive sauna detox treatments next month at the specialized clinic dealing with my chemical sensitivities. I wasn't strong enough to start them before.

The fact that my body began to detox on its own is a fabulous, wonderous sign.

We are by no means finished with winter Down East, and most people will look back on February of 2015 as a long, long, hard month.

As for me, it has unlocked a new path of healing. For that, I will look back at this year with profound gratitude.  

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Photo by Helen Tansey