The Onesie

I’m always cold.

I don’t like being cold, but I’m too environmentally conscious (read cheap) to turn the thermostat to a comfortable level. In practical terms this means we bundle up–way up–through the long Canadian winter.

Imagine my delight when I discovered the perfect article of indoor cold weather clothing–the adult onesie! This baby wraps me in plush teddy bear softness from scalp to slender ankles. (On the flip side, imagine my sailor’s “delight” when I began wearing my all-encompassing fur suit to bed.)

As I go about my daily routine, I find myself wishing I had my cozy onesie on instead of my day clothes. If only I’d found it in time for Halloween, I could’ve attached ears and a tail and worn it to work for one glorious day!

Recently I discovered the onesie’s only negative quality–it’s impossible to get out of in a hurry.

The contractor we’ve hired to address our house issues turned up almost an hour early this morning.

He knocked on the front door as I was sipping my first coffee of the day. The Chihuahua (never a morning person at the best of times) quivered bleary-eyed, woofing in his general direction. Me? I raced to the bedroom fumbling with the three-foot zipper that bisects the front of my darling onesie so I could climb out of it and get dressed before facing the tradesman.

Sigh, perhaps the onesie is best reserved for lazy weekend mornings when I can lounge around for hours like a content teddy bear.

On the Road Again

We’ve had a string of exceptionally cold weather.

Instead of gloomy rain and tempteratures in the 8 to 10 degree range, we’ve had clear crisp days that are well below zero. (I think our lows have been almost -10!) Some people might not think this is so bad. By some people, I mean the majority of Candians, but this is freezing to us Islanders.

While my hair loves the drier conditions (unsightly frizz, be gone!), the rest of me’s not so sure. I have to plan to leave about ten minutes earlier every morning so I have time to scrape the ice off my car windows. And gloves??? Where the heck did all the winter accessories go?

Then there’s the jogging. In theory I’m still a lean, mean jogger who regularly hits the pavement so hard it’s screaming for mercy. In reality–not so much. I’ve forced myself to go for one short, loping-style jog per week just to keep my sorry self in some kind of shape to bounce back into activity after the spring thaw.

This week is was especially hard to motivate myself. As well as mittens, I had to find a scarf and a toque, an endeavour which took almost as long as the run itself! Then I had to convince myself that I could do this. I can jog in below zero temps. I really can. When we lived the Maritimes, I was a three times/week girl regardless of weather. I regularly ran on slick sidewalks packed with frozen snow in -20 or below. (What was I thinking???)

As no one likes to admit they’ve become softer and wimpier with age, remembering my past exploits was just the ticket to get me out and moving.

I may not have experienced a runner’s high, but I didn’t suffer from my usual plodder’s misery, either, which is worth celebrating.