Slice of Life: I'm Tired of Being Cold

I'm tired of being cold --- and, yes, I wrote this in June!

This morning I am sitting on my couch curled up in the corner seat wrapped in a fleece jacket.  Yes, it's June in Ohio, but I'm cold.  I started on the patio because it was warmer outside than inside, but it started to rain so I had to come back into the house.

I'm considering disconnecting the air conditioning.  Do you think my family would notice?

When you live in Ohio, you are cold from November until late March.  You learn to live with it.  You build fires in the fireplace, drink hot coffee, and make lots of soup.  During these months, I tire of putting on coats, boots, scarves and mittens.  I tire of sweaters and leggings under my dress pants.  I tire of cold winds and icy conditions.  Cold just becomes a way of life.  My car doesn't like the cold either.  It has a warning light when the temperature gets to 37 degrees fahrenheit.  This always makes me laugh as 37 might be considered warm in January.  We spend months in endless brown and white with temperatures well below 37.

When the calendar turns to April I know I will soon find relief.  You'd think that I could be warm in June when temperatures near the upper 70s and into the 80s, but in Ohio people love air conditioning.  I'm convinced they love to keep houses and buildings as cold as the wintery days about which we complain.

My husband, whom I love dearly, likes the house colder than I.  I can't imagine why his mediterranean blood would like it so cold.  I find myself putting on jackets, wearings shirts with sleeves, and keeping socks on my feet just to wander around our house.  I've tried to find a warm spot, but our air conditioning is much too efficient.  When I go to bed at night, I often have to turn on my side of the heated mattress pad just to get warm.

All of this cold, makes it hard to dress to go anywhere.  If you're going to be inside, you might as well reach into your fall clothes stack.  You'll need pants, sleeves, and maybe a sweater to go just about anywhere.  This, of course, is complicated if you plan to be inside and outside.  Outside the temperature might be over eighty degrees, but inside feels like sixty.  It's like living in a freezer.

I'm cold everywhere.  I keep a blanket on the couch in the summer.  I have a jacket in my car, just in case.  When I was younger my grandma was quite a fashionista.  She wore pant suits of yellow, blue, and mint green.  Even in the summer she would have on a long sleeved blouse and a suit jacket.  I couldn't understand it.  Wasn't she hot in those outfits?  Now, I'm actually considering purchasing a few pant suits for summer.  Maybe, like me, she was always cold in the summer.  Maybe it's a genetic disease.

Whatever it is, I'm tired of being cold in the summer.  I just wish my fellow Ohioans could realize that summer is the time for us to store up enough warmth in our bones to last us through the long months of winter.  I just wish I could convince everyone to keep their spaces just a bit above meat locker temperature.  I just want to be warm.

It's Tuesday!  Today I'm participating in the Slice of Challenge hosted each Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.  Stop by today's round-up and join the fun!  


Comments

  1. This piece made me laugh. One of the biggest adjustments for me, after I adopted the boys, was getting used to having the air conditioning on, at least part of the time. Most of the time, I absolutely hate it. I'd much rather have the windows open and be a little too warm. I hadn't thought about pant suits. Hmmmm.

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  2. Me, too, but I am warmer natured. Your post reminds me of my daughter-in-law who claims to be cold--always. I do think that some places keep the ac too cold. I love the open windows, but just turned on my air for weekend guests. Now time to open those windows again! Funny to hear about the pants suits!

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  3. I feel your pain . . . er, cold. Whenever I go anywhere in the car with my husband, I must have a jacket. He loves cold. My air vents are always turned off and sometimes the seat heater is on. The best thing we discovered is our car has seat coolers too. He turns his on and that helps to keep him cooler so the AC doesn't have to be blasting so much cold air. Hope you warm up!

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  4. It's so cold in Maine too! I can't remember the last time we wore jackets in June. It's killing me!

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  5. I so relate to this. I live in Michigan and continually question why we haven't tried seeking residence somewhere like Florida, Arizona, or California. I HATE being cold, and am freezing all the time unless it's over 80 degrees outside. And of course my husband is the opposite so we are always arguing over when to turn on the air conditioning. :)

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  6. Smiling as I read your post.
    It's still cold here in New Brunswick.

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  7. My husband is on an energy/money saving kick. Love that it translates to a more comfortable home climate in the summer...winter - I'm always looking for another layer. This is after years of freezing at home in the summers. I totally get your post. My mom used to travel with a blanket on summer road trips with my dad.

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  8. I always have my sweater in the car for when I go into the grocery store or a restaurant. I can never figure out why we have to do this. You know how I love to eat, but when I am in some of these restaurants, I don't even enjoy it because I am freezing!!!!

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