Dehydrated

Dry, cracked skin around my nails; peeling fingertips; thick calluses on my heels and toes; dry patches on my hands and buttocks; fatigue; lack of memory. These are the effects of dehydration that I've been experiencing, yet haven't related to lack of fluids until just recently. Strange as it may sound, I can go for days without drinking more than a couple of glasses of milk or orange juice. Since leaving my workday behind, I've eliminated many of the workday habits that had me eating and drinking well. The day of a public high school teacher is fairly well regimented, with little room for deviation; and so, the routines of the day become a lifestyle, almost. Now that I'm home all the time, I find that I have no discipline about when and what to eat or drink. And that has led to my weight gain and dehydration.

It occurred to me three days ago, when my peeling feet and fingertips were really bothering me and I'd just bought my 4th kind of hand lotion hoping for relief, that the problem was internal, not external. At that moment, I consumed a 17 oz bottle of water and vowed to rehydrate myself. Since then, I've drunk 4 17-oz bottles of water each day, and already I see a difference in my skin and my alertness. This isn't something that I can fail myself on; I need to be more diligent about my drinking habits.

I just can't believe it took me this long to figure it out.