IN WHICH BEAR'S EDITORIAL COMMITTEE TAKES CHARGE

Good morning. This is Edward Sans-serif. And I'm Mary Italic. We are members of Rob-Bear's Editorial Committee.

We have taken over, briefly, the management of Bear's blogs. This is a task which would normally have been handled by Her Ladyship, Miss Sadie, Duchess of St. Swythun's Punt-on-Thames, Duchess of Cardigan and Wooly Boots, and (by Royal Appointment) Guardian of Offa's Dyke (on the Welsh-English border). But Miss Sadie is no longer here, so we're doing it.

As some of you are aware, Bear has not been well for quite a long time. We are happy to share with you the news that, through his participation in the program of the Health Region's Chronic Pain Centre, Bear has been doing much better. He has recovered his ability to get outside and walk (and not just a block or two). Likewise, he is able to get up and down stairs, and do things around the apartment, much more easily. We, and the other members of Bear's Editorial Committee, celebrate these successes with Bear! Well done, Bear. Exciting time! We trust this will lead to even better things.

However. (Isn't it interesting that, with good news, there is often a "However"!)

As some of you also know, Bear has lived with major depression for years. Decades, actually. It has become a chronic problem. 

One of Bear's major challenges in this regard is the weather. You might be skeptical about that, but it is true. When autumn turns to winter, or winter turns to spring, Bear's whole being gets a bit messed up. (More than a bit, really.) It is related to the depression. This particular challenge is common among those who suffer prolonged depression. We do not fully understand this, but researchers have identified the problem. (It is not Seasonal Affective Disorder — SAD, though it is a sad situation for Bear and others who experience this "unhappiness" with the change of seasons.)

In Bear's case, his whole body hurts, even in places where there is usually no pain. And some places where he usually hurts get much worse. And his thinking gets very "dragged down"; that seems to be the crucial issue.

Though this has been a routine part of Bear's experience in the past, and he understands what is happening, it always catches him off guard when it arrives. Meaning that Bear goes through a couple of very bad weeks, and then Bear gets better. The problem appears without notice, and disappears without notice. Most peculiar to us, but not to Bear. For Bear, this just "is." Though this year, it has been complicated by several other unhappy developments.

We, along with his care team, will closely monitor Bear's condition for the next few weeks. We do not expect anything terribly untoward will happen (as was the case last year). We fully expect Bear, with his "peculiar" (some would say "bizarre") approach to life, will bounce back by the end of this month. In his absence, we'll keep up his correspondence.

As for the "other unhappy developments" which have additionally complicated Bear's life this year, we'll leave those for Bear to explain.

On Bear's behalf, and on behalf of the whole Editorial Committee, we than you for Bearing with Bear during this period of adversity.