With the arrival of Christmas last week Monday, so too were we at the front end of a rather long stretch of unseasonably cold weather. Most days the high temperatures have struggled to be in the single digits. During the Christmas season we often use the garage for storage. No doubt that this time the garage is sufficiently cold, to the point that items have froze. Lucky for me the beer is in the basement. What I realized is that this year, unlike past year,s I now have a tendency to put on a coat to go to the garage. This made me think of my Dad, who my mother referred to by his middle name Bernard. I realized I am becoming Bernard.
The cold garage has frozen some left over wine, along with soup my spouse made with turkey carcass left over from Christmas dinner. There are trips to the garage to get cookies, now frozen, and to dispense with garbage and recyclables. My Dad would seldom go to the garage in cold weather without a coat and/or a hat. This even tough the garage where I grew up is insulated, so it does not get as cold as fast as the garage where I currently reside but is not insulated. It is not like he could not stand the cold. As a young adult during WWII he went through the Battle of the Bulge, where he spent a few days hiding in a culvert for many days after being fired upon by German troops who had gathered for the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge; he grew up farming in the cold of the Midwest; and while he almost always wore a hat, rarely did he wear one covering his ears. As a young child, I would often see him wearing a fedora, and not the kind with drop down ear coverings. He often would comment to us that he went bald from having to wear a hat to keep his head warm during the cold winter on the European continent for 1944-1945.
As he would grab a coat to either put on or fling over his shoulders as he would prepare to venture into the garage or make a quick trip outside, we were there to snicker. Of course comments were made, too. No one was above the ability to be picked on by the kids in our family, neither Dad, or Mom. Although the youngest was the one who may have most been above being picked on.
As I have been on vacation for the past week, I find myself becoming like Bernard. I have found myself putting on a coat and hat to make the trip to the mail box when up to this year I would just run out without over clothes. I also have found myself putting on a coat to make a trip to the garage to gather cookies, or for some other reason. So, I wonder was it turning 60, or the fact that for some reason I find myself unable to run as fast as I did last year? Or, maybe I would rather take the time to be comfortable on the ventures rather than get chilled.
The chill is hard to get over sometimes, particularly when you think the house is 67 degrees when it turns out it was actually a few degrees lower. A little trial on Thursday and Friday using varied thermometers in the house shows a two to three degree temperature differential from the thermostat reading to that on the gauges less than three feet away. Going for my daily walk, I decided this year for the first time, to wear long johns for my legs. My Dad would be happy to see this, as he would often comment to us children to put on our long underwear, which we seldom did. After all, how many children actually take the suggestion of their parents?
However, it goes beyond winter and coats, hats and long underwear. I also am very near sighted, and remove my glasses to read small print or look at things up close. I found it rather trying to work on the speaker wires to our receiver last week. Add dark conditions, the inability to pull the receiver all the way out and my eye sight and you have a perfect storm. I am not the only one I see doing this. One engineer at work uses his I phone camera as a magnifying glass.
Wearing the long underwear came at the suggestion of my wife. Of course, I have been walking much of this week at sunrise, the coldest part of the day. While cold, I hoped to avoid the which I find more bothersome than temperatures. Showing the affect of wind, I would rather put up with a minus five degree temperature, than a temperature in the teens, with a wind that produces a wind chill of minus five. So, yes perhaps the cold weather is starting to affect me more than in past years. With a windchill warning until noon yesterday, I waited until early afternoon to take my walk, and it actually fairly pleasant with the sun.
While my Dad was younger than I currently am when he would put on his coat and hat to venture into the garage or a quick trip outside, he is probably smiling that I have some sense, regardless of how long it took to arrive. Parents are not always wrong.
Happy New Year, and stay warm. Cold weather predicted to at least next weekend.
The cold garage has frozen some left over wine, along with soup my spouse made with turkey carcass left over from Christmas dinner. There are trips to the garage to get cookies, now frozen, and to dispense with garbage and recyclables. My Dad would seldom go to the garage in cold weather without a coat and/or a hat. This even tough the garage where I grew up is insulated, so it does not get as cold as fast as the garage where I currently reside but is not insulated. It is not like he could not stand the cold. As a young adult during WWII he went through the Battle of the Bulge, where he spent a few days hiding in a culvert for many days after being fired upon by German troops who had gathered for the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge; he grew up farming in the cold of the Midwest; and while he almost always wore a hat, rarely did he wear one covering his ears. As a young child, I would often see him wearing a fedora, and not the kind with drop down ear coverings. He often would comment to us that he went bald from having to wear a hat to keep his head warm during the cold winter on the European continent for 1944-1945.
As he would grab a coat to either put on or fling over his shoulders as he would prepare to venture into the garage or make a quick trip outside, we were there to snicker. Of course comments were made, too. No one was above the ability to be picked on by the kids in our family, neither Dad, or Mom. Although the youngest was the one who may have most been above being picked on.
As I have been on vacation for the past week, I find myself becoming like Bernard. I have found myself putting on a coat and hat to make the trip to the mail box when up to this year I would just run out without over clothes. I also have found myself putting on a coat to make a trip to the garage to gather cookies, or for some other reason. So, I wonder was it turning 60, or the fact that for some reason I find myself unable to run as fast as I did last year? Or, maybe I would rather take the time to be comfortable on the ventures rather than get chilled.
The chill is hard to get over sometimes, particularly when you think the house is 67 degrees when it turns out it was actually a few degrees lower. A little trial on Thursday and Friday using varied thermometers in the house shows a two to three degree temperature differential from the thermostat reading to that on the gauges less than three feet away. Going for my daily walk, I decided this year for the first time, to wear long johns for my legs. My Dad would be happy to see this, as he would often comment to us children to put on our long underwear, which we seldom did. After all, how many children actually take the suggestion of their parents?
However, it goes beyond winter and coats, hats and long underwear. I also am very near sighted, and remove my glasses to read small print or look at things up close. I found it rather trying to work on the speaker wires to our receiver last week. Add dark conditions, the inability to pull the receiver all the way out and my eye sight and you have a perfect storm. I am not the only one I see doing this. One engineer at work uses his I phone camera as a magnifying glass.
Wearing the long underwear came at the suggestion of my wife. Of course, I have been walking much of this week at sunrise, the coldest part of the day. While cold, I hoped to avoid the which I find more bothersome than temperatures. Showing the affect of wind, I would rather put up with a minus five degree temperature, than a temperature in the teens, with a wind that produces a wind chill of minus five. So, yes perhaps the cold weather is starting to affect me more than in past years. With a windchill warning until noon yesterday, I waited until early afternoon to take my walk, and it actually fairly pleasant with the sun.
While my Dad was younger than I currently am when he would put on his coat and hat to venture into the garage or a quick trip outside, he is probably smiling that I have some sense, regardless of how long it took to arrive. Parents are not always wrong.
Happy New Year, and stay warm. Cold weather predicted to at least next weekend.
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