External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge.

No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him.

No wind that blew was bitterer than he,

no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose,

no pelting rain less open to entreaty.

-Charles Dickens,

“A Christmas Carol”

It’s fricking’ freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth.

When I got up this morning, the outside thermometer read 4 degrees.

In Jeff’s car it read zero.

When I took the kids to the bus stop, I couldn’t stop rubbing at my face. Because the slightly runny nose I had inside (which I experience every morning for no obvious reason) turned into stabbing ice crystals outside. It felt like I had jagged icicles in my nose.

But it wasn’t too bad- I had a warm jacket, and gloves, a hat and scarf. Fuzzy sweatpants tucked into tall furry boots. The bus was thankfully only a few minutes late, and walking back into the house was a welcome relief- all 63° of it.

We keep our house chilly, but it felt great after the frigid outdoors. I made myself some coffee, cut myself a slice of homemade coffee cake, and sat down to work in my cozy bed. Usually I do force myself into my office for optimum productivity, but today seemed like a good day to indulge.

I am, like, one of the luckiest people alive.

On days like this I can’t help but be aware of those who have no cozy beds and dogs that act like living foot warmers. (Even if their hound-dog breath can be likened to the stench of month-old egg farts, deep-fried.)

No hot drinks at will, no thermostat to elect to keep cool to save money.

People who have to give up their privacy and dignity and possibly their safety, to sleep in a shelter with strangers.

Or who just keep moving, trying to find a place that won’t kick them back out into the cold.

Or simply bundle themselves as best they can and hope they don’t freeze in their sleep.

Many of those people are mentally ill and cannot make the decisions that are best for them.

Many of them are children.

Today sucked, weatherwise. It sounds like Wednesday & Thursday are going to suck too- wet snow and sleet followed by yet another cold snap. It hasn’t even warmed up enough to chip away the snow from the last snowfall.

These are the days that I remember just how lucky I am.

I have the luxury of complaining about nothing of importance.

** I have 3 kids and a picky husband. I went through my closet and found half a dozen coats and an embarrassment of gloves, scarves, boots and hats. If your coat closet is like mine, consider donating to a local shelter through One Warm Coat- you can search for an organization by zip code. Even better, make it easier for those you know to declutter and help others keep warm: hold a coat drive. It doesn’t have to be a big organized effort, just email your friends and neighbors and ask them to drop off any donations at your house and make one big drop at the donation center. What a great way for your kids to perform a service for your community! Just a thought 🙂 **