Welcome to Minnesota in January…As I write this, it’s eight-below outside. And I’m tired of being asked if it’s cold enough for me.
It’s that kind of cold where the world sounds different outside–planes sound weird, cars and traffic sound a little different. It’s the kind of cold that makes you gasp as soon as you step out into it. And I’ve felt much colder, back in North Dakota, I walked a block-and-a-half to work in a 90-below wind chill after stepping into the car (yes, I really did plan to drive that distance–sorry) and turning the key, only to hear a click and nothing more. Everything was cold for those few days: the outside was unbelievably cold, and the inside walls were all just radiating cold everywhere. The only time I was really warm was bundled up in bed under a pile of blankets. And by that point, Jenni and Patrick were already back here.
But this is Minnesota. And January. It’s supposed to be cold. Very cold at times. So the news right now is jumping up and down screaming about how cold it is and how people are dealing with it.
It’s an amazing thing, when you think about it: EVERYONE in the entire state is experiencing the same thing. So why are we asking someone waiting for a bus downtown about how cold they are? Is that person going to tell us something we don’t know? Yes, I’m wearing five layers right now and haven’t felt my toes since December.
Why don’t they come out tomorrow morning and watch Hannah and Zoe wait for their bus in the morning? The girls will be layered a lot, having discovered long underwear. Though Jenni did the mom thing earlier in the week: the bus hadn’t come at a consistent time since school resumed after the first. So Jenni talked to the bus driver and asked if he knew he was late, and when the scheduled pickup time was…Since then, the bus has been on time every single day. And I don’t expect anything different tomorrow.
Ah, but I ramble. Must be the cold. With any luck, the car will start tomorrow, because I work more than a block away from home now.
See you tomorrow.