On Saturdays while middle daughter goes to the gym, Richard watches the baby. She arrived this morning bundled up beyond free movement and sporting her purple Ravens hat. She smiled her new four-toothed grin as her mother unbundled her. She's been a little clingy (the baby, not her mother) because she's just getting over an ear infection, but her Poppy doesn't mind. He carries her from room to room showing her all kinds of treasures. For some reason she is enthralled by our white plantation shutters; she stares transfixed as Richard opens the slats and then closes them. Actually, come to think of it, Richard is transfixed, too. Hmm...
I wanted to go to the store before it got crazy -- they've called for snow and rain in our area. When there is the slightest threat of snow, people around here go nuts. Grocery stores are the worst place to be as people scramble for milk, toilet paper, and necessities like M & M peanuts.
Anyway, before I went we had time for one song and dance, and so the three of us danced to "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. A simple but magnificent pleasure: dancing with our grand baby. It doesn't get much better than that.
About Me
- KathyA
- I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 53 years, two years after we met at college. I taught in both middle and high schools as I really love teens and in-betweens. I was also a certified Lamaze instructor, and for a short time a volunteer chaplain at Howard County General Hospital. I am a two-time cancer survivor, ovarian (2003), and breast (2019) I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs with great parents, in a bilingual household. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, the Orioles, and sometimes the Ravens. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy (Kath), and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader, cook, photographer, lover of languages, music, and four-footed furries.
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, December 5, 2008
Cold Nights
The football team at the high school where I taught English and from which my children graduated made it to the state championship. They played last night at M & T Stadium (home of the Baltimore Ravens). I went because I'm still part of the Wilde Lake community, and to show my support for the kids and for their coach who will retire soon after 32 years of coaching and over 300 wins.
The weather was miserable: not quite cold enough for snow, but cold enough for the rain to feel like ice against our faces. I thought I had dressed warmly enough--lots of layers, but soon was "amazed" at how that cold rain could soak through everything: my flannel-lined rain jacket with hood, my gloves, shoes, socks, and most of my layers. We stayed until the end of the fourth quarter (they were losing 13-0) when the cold just got too much. I needed to be dry and warm. (Just sitting here writing about this caused me to get up and change into a sweat suit and heavy socks!) (I guess this is where I should mention that I am NEVER cold. Just ask my daughters and daughter-in-law who when they visit even in August must don parkas because of the temperature at which I'm comfortable. Ask my husband who suffers through my sleeping beside an open window all winter.)
What a pleasure it was to slip between flannel sheets into our nest of a bed. Normally, this means instant warmth, but two hours later I was still freezing, chilled to the proverbial bone, and so we put yet another blanket on the bed. Only then did I begin to feel comfortable. It occurred to me that many cannot come in from the cold or feel any relief from the elements, and I cannot imagine, even as cold as I was, what having no anticipated relief feels like.
Every Christmas my husband gives gifts to all of his clients. We think long and hard in choosing something appropriate and meaningful. This year, he will be writing each client a letter wishing them blessings for this holiday season and explaining that his gift to them is a donation to the Little Sisters of the Poor in Baltimore. http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=23
These nuns take their own vows of poverty very seriously in caring for the poorest in our society. Hopefully, through them, we can make someone's night a little warmer.
The weather was miserable: not quite cold enough for snow, but cold enough for the rain to feel like ice against our faces. I thought I had dressed warmly enough--lots of layers, but soon was "amazed" at how that cold rain could soak through everything: my flannel-lined rain jacket with hood, my gloves, shoes, socks, and most of my layers. We stayed until the end of the fourth quarter (they were losing 13-0) when the cold just got too much. I needed to be dry and warm. (Just sitting here writing about this caused me to get up and change into a sweat suit and heavy socks!) (I guess this is where I should mention that I am NEVER cold. Just ask my daughters and daughter-in-law who when they visit even in August must don parkas because of the temperature at which I'm comfortable. Ask my husband who suffers through my sleeping beside an open window all winter.)
What a pleasure it was to slip between flannel sheets into our nest of a bed. Normally, this means instant warmth, but two hours later I was still freezing, chilled to the proverbial bone, and so we put yet another blanket on the bed. Only then did I begin to feel comfortable. It occurred to me that many cannot come in from the cold or feel any relief from the elements, and I cannot imagine, even as cold as I was, what having no anticipated relief feels like.
Every Christmas my husband gives gifts to all of his clients. We think long and hard in choosing something appropriate and meaningful. This year, he will be writing each client a letter wishing them blessings for this holiday season and explaining that his gift to them is a donation to the Little Sisters of the Poor in Baltimore. http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=23
These nuns take their own vows of poverty very seriously in caring for the poorest in our society. Hopefully, through them, we can make someone's night a little warmer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)