Brrrrrrrr

I didn't anticipate Andy's anxiousness when I picked him up from school yesterday. He threw his backpack in the car, quickly got into his seat, slammed the door and hollared, "Let's go!"

I felt I was driving a get-away car.

Much to his dismay, I sedately moved the car into traffic (I'm The Mom, I drive only sedately, mainly to irritate my young) and asked, "What's the rush?"

"It's COLD!" he said.

He has no concept of cold. Yesterday, I drove to Morris to cover a Beef Quality Assurance meeting and then hustled back to town to cover an R-CALF event at the Fergus livestock auction. You want cold? Just try sitting on ice-cold seats in an equally cold livestock barn! Kid, THAT'S cold.

I didn't let on to the chill I'd felt most of the day. Afterall, I AM The Mom and I drove sedately home.

No one left the house last night. We heard the numerous times the furnace came on as we faced close to 50 below (with windchill) temperatures. We knew it was the furnace because of all the cha-chings we heard when the furnace came on....actually we could almost see the dollar bills go out that natural gas tube that vents out near my kitchen window.

My heater was on in my basement office. Doug bundled under the blanket watching something with a ball in it on TV. Andy and Jose were equally wrapped against the chill.

Doug plugged in my car and, in the morning, informed me I'd have to drive him to work. His car wouldn't start. I figured that would happen today. Doug's car does not have a tank heater. A car in Minnesota that doesn't have a tank heater. Go figure. So, I drove him to work, got the kids off, and spent a day in the house working.

Doug was concerned that the special ed bus he drives might gel up. Yep, it was cold but not enough for that to happen. Thank goodness!

Everyone enjoyed the meal I made thanks to my oven that was also heating my kitchen (there was a reason for my meal choice and it had more to do with staying warm than making hot dish...and why do they call it a casserole anyway? It is, afterall, a HOT DISH!!!!)

Jose was at Youth Group and was brought home by Jason, a great worker for the Lord who mans Hillcrest's technical needs and was working at Bethel when Jose was at youth group. I made him refried beans and heated the tortillas on the stove.

I looked at Jose as he left the stove armed with a plateful of the bean burritos with no queso (cheese). He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I shivered. How can he wear a t-shirt? Brrrrr. But there's something about that age. Do teens wear jackets? Very few do. Do they wear sweaters? Nooooooo. They claim they are warm with their t-shirts or light jackets.

Andy usually has a coat on and I count myself lucky. No, he doesn't wear gloves, as a rule, but at least the coat is covering his body and, if it's cold enough, the hood is up. Jose? He's the Mexican child who seems to defy the cold. Bring it on is almost his mantra against windchill. Oh, don't think I've cajoled and threatened. He often will grab it as he goes out the door to apease me but he doesn't always don it. Today he surely did.

But why doesn't this child, used to 70 plus degree temps in Mexico, button up and bundle up against the cold? And why do they, Andy included, insist on wearing t-shirts but no sweaters?

I MUST be getting old (duhhhhh). And I really don't care. Give me my well insulated winter coat. Give me two pairs of socks. Let me grab my thermals (underwear) and woolen slacks. I'm not afraid to put on my gloves and wrap a scarf around my head.

But how do the kids survive? Why only the t-shirts in the cold?

Go figure.