I now view the cold months here in Northeast Ohio as a personal challenge

Fall began earlier this week, but I've always felt it really coincides with the start of the school year.

By that definition, it has been fall in our city for more than a month. The deeper we get into September and October, the crisper the mornings become. Since May or so, almost all of my morning walks have been done in a t-shirt and shorts. Now the long-sleeve pullovers come out.

It would be one thing if it ended there, and if in a few months we were again enjoying warm mornings and even warmer afternoons.

But that pleasantly brisk 5:30am walk is just the beginning. For those of us on the shores of Lake Erie, there is a long period ahead of falling temperatures that won't bottom out until January/February, perpetually gray skies, and yes, snow and ice.

I never used to think much of the September-through-March slog. It just came and went and you got through it.

But man, I swear the older I get, the longer it seems. Those first signs of warmth in mid- to late March are always welcome, and they always feel like an ordeal we've come through together. But enduring the cold months gets just a bit tougher each year.

Of course, no matter where you live, there are climatic challenges. If it's not hurricanes it's tropical humidity (or both). Or much worse cold than we get here. Or unending rain.

Our weather issues probably aren't any more difficult to deal with than anyone else's. It's just...boy, I don't know how a six-month period can suddenly feel like it's years long, but it does.

Oh well, we'll live. Terry and I have talked about becoming snowbirds eventually, but for now, we grin and bear it.

OK, admittedly, I'm not grinning.

It's August and I've been wearing sweaters for a month.

I've dropped some weight over the past few months. Nineteen pounds as of yesterday, to be exact.

I won't get into the weight loss thing, as I've covered it to death on this blog over the years. I shouldn't even have to be worrying about it right now, given that I achieved a healthy weight back in 2016 and had no real reason not to maintain it.

But I didn't, so here I am.

Anyway, if you've ever lost weight, you know there's a point where you start feeling the effects yourself but no one else yet really notices. That point varies from person to person, but for me it's right around 15 pounds.

Pants and shirts are looser. I have more energy. I'm walking faster in the mornings with the same amount of effort. That sort of thing.

What also happens around 15 pounds is that my temperature tolerance shifts, and it shifts dramatically. I go from wearing thin dress shirts to multiple layers, even in July and August.

Most of the time when I'm at Goodyear, I wear a fleece pullover or sweater. Otherwise I almost freeze by the time the day is half finished.

It doesn't help that they really crank up the air conditioning there (which I think is uniquely an American office thing, though I can't be sure). I would be fine if they weren't constantly pumping Arctic air into our work environment.

But as it is, I'm always cold. So I bundle up and look like Nanook of the North when others around the office are wearing polos and short sleeves.

It's a small price to pay to be healthier, I know, but I'm kind of looking forward to that September-ish transition when we go from AC to heat.

And the inevitable trip to Kohl's to buy some new winter clothes, one size down.