The Postscript: New Year inventory

The New Year is when we take stock.

In some cases, like my husband Peter’s, this is literal. He keeps an inventory of our canned goods and chastises me if I mess up his inventory.

“Did you mark off the black beans?”

“Um, no.”

“You have to mark it off on the list or I won’t know how many I have.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

I am less concerned about our supply of canned goods in the New Year and more concerned about stockpiles closer to home — on my hips, for example.

I had gotten out of the habit of weighing myself, and I decided this was probably unwise. So I started weighing myself in the mornings. Monitor...