Predicting The Weather

The strongest man in my life growing up was my grandfather. When I was younger I used to hear my grandfather say that he could feel a storm brewing. I always wondered how that was possible. Was he some kind of person with supernatural strength? Well in my eyes he was, but I do not think that was the way most people saw him.

How could he feel a storm coming?

To most people, he was just a hard working man with a family. Did he know something I didn't? Well of course he did. He was in his 70's at this point. Did he have a way to know what the weather was going to do before any of us did? Absolutely. But how? Maybe he had been sitting watching The Weather Channel all day. However, I knew better than that because my grandfather would spend most of his time outdoors in his beloved shop. My grandmother was always in the house. Maybe she had come out and told him when she brought him a cup of coffee. I was young and just didn't understand.  What did he mean by he could feel a storm? I had never felt a storm until the storm started and the wind would blow my long hair. Looking back I wish I could ask him to explain what he had meant by that statement. Now that I am older I know exactly what he meant for my body is now a weather predictor too.

Learning the trick he knew

Years later I have now come to learn what he meant by saying he could feel a storm coming. Having been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis 6 years ago my body is now good at predicting the upcoming storms. That sounds crazy you say. Ask anyone with arthritis and I bet you will get the same answer. They know as well what it means for their bodies when the weather changes. For me when the weather changes it brings on painful reactions in my body. My left knee is real good about swelling on me when a storm is a brewing. Winter storms bring on a feeling of my body being put in a vice and tightened until there is no more room to squeeze it together. For those days when it is my knee swelling it means a day of little movement with an ice pack readily available stacked on top of it. When it is my body feeling like being in a vice a warm blanket is what is on hand along with a nice cup of hot tea or tomato soup which is my comfort food of choice. At night it is lying in bed under an electric blanket hoping that tomorrow will bring a better day of joint relief. 

Arthritis and weather changes

For my grandfather, it was not dealing with psoriatic arthritis but some other form of arthritis. However, you can be sure that no matter the type of arthritis it affects the body just about the same. I wish I had known then what I know now. I would have had more open talks with my grandfather about why he said he could feel it and what he would do to make it better. Unfortunately, I cannot. I will never know his secrets of dealing with the body pain. The best I can do is to tell my doctor and go with their treatment recommendations. So remember if there is ever a time you hear an older person say that they can feel a storm coming stop and have that conversation with them. You just might learn something new from a wise person with years of experience.