Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I was born and raised in New England, so frigid temperatures in January do not come as a surprise to me. The cold pretty much comes with the territory. But that doesn’t mean I like it. I can handle it, but I don’t like it.

I don’t like it when my car groans and protests when I try to start it in the morning, and when gripping the steering wheel feels like gripping an iceberg, and when the car seat is crispy and stiff from the cold.

I don’t like it when the walkway ices over, and the front door is frozen shut, and the roads are dotted with patches of treacherous black ice.

I don’t like it when the wind rattles the windows, and pulls the front door out of my hands, and howls down the chimney.

I don’t like it when my hands get stiff, and my feet ache from the cold, and my nose gets red and runny.

But there are things about the cold weather that I do love.

I love all the wonderful comfort foods we enjoy during the cold weather: chicken pot pie, and lasagna, and hot oatmeal, and chicken noodle soup, and shepherd’s pie, and grilled cheese sandwiches, and chili, and beef stew.

I love all the cozy clothes we snuggle in during the cold weather: fuzzy slippers, and heavy sweaters, and elegant boots, and stylish scarves, and flattering leggings, and sleek wool coats, and warm mittens, and jaunty hats.

I love the ways we keep warm during the cold weather: sitting by the fire, wrapping in a warm blanket, holding a steaming mug of coffee or tea, tucking a heating pad between the sheets, soaking in a warm scented tub.

I love the things we find to do to keep out of the cold weather: playing board games, reading books, telling stories, cooking together, doing art projects.

Hmm, maybe I don’t dislike the cold quite as much as I thought I did!

The Best Things on a Cold Day

It’s cold. Really, REALLY cold. Like, booger-freezing cold.

But there are a lot of things that I really love on a cold day.

A mug of hot cocoa with a big scoop of marshmallow fluff melting into it, stirred with a candy cane.

A bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup.

Curling up on the couch with a snuggly warm blanket on my lap. Or a cat. Or a small child.

Dinner in front of a roaring fire.

A car with heated seats.

A microwavable beanbag heating pad slipped in between the sheets before bed.

Putting on clothes warm from the dryer.

A hot bubble bath. And a glass of wine.

Fuzzy pants.

Mittens knitted by my grandma. Or someone else’s grandma.

Putting my ice-cold feet on someone else’s toasty warm legs.

Electric blankets.

Thick wool socks.

Fuzzy slippers.

A nice thick rug next to the bed.

Sitting next to the radiator/heating duct/sunny window.

Sweaters with long enough arms that I can pull my hands in and high enough collars that I can tuck my chin (and even nose) inside.

Holding a mug of coffee/tea/hot cocoa up to my face and breathing in the warm steam.

Looking out the window at the snow and just being glad – VERY glad – that I’m inside where it’s warm!