A Window Is Open

As the temperature outside drops, odd enough, I want to be outside. Not because I like the cold, in fact, I despise the cold! I wake up in the morning, unable to move because my bones are freezing. I have to hover over the toilet because I can't sit on the seat. If I dare sit down, a chill shoots from my butt down to my toes and up my back. I can't blow my nose, for when ice chunks come out, it hurts! Shea gives me a little kiss, and his warm licks seem to immediately freeze up my skin. After spending the night sleeping in layers, underneath my heavy comforter, I am almost ready to remove layers before going outside for my morning run.


I have many times assumed that I have been leaving a window open somewhere. I have been obsessively checking my windows, thinking maybe I hadn't shut them all the way. I wiggle them, unlock them, re-lock them, to no avail. Maybe my uncle has his windows open. Maybe I am just incredibly frail and can't handle a little chill. I don't know, but something seemed really strange about how cold I am, especially at night. 


Each morning I check the temperature before I go out. I like to have an idea of what to expect and not to be surprised by the frost covering the formerly luscious green grass. Since the temperature has dropped more than 25 degrees this past week, I feel like I should be dressing like I am going out to explore the arctic. However, I walk out the door and am pleasantly greeted with a calm coolness, not the feeling that I have ventured out across a frozen tundra. 

Coming home from work today, I stepped inside from a nipping chill to be slammed in the face with what seemed like a cold, gusting wind. I announced, "Brrrr, it's freezing." With that, my uncle rushed to show me where the thermostat was. He explained that he turns it down while we are both at work, and pumps the temperature up a few degrees when we are both home. I know I can't complain, because, yes, Shea and I have been welcomed here with open arms. But, I can't help but think my uncle needs to pump the temperature up a bit more than a few degrees when we are both home. For a few degrees gets us to 58 degrees. That's right, the thermostat is always somewhere between 55 and 58 degrees! 


No wonder I am going crazy thinking a window is open! No wonder I am sleeping in layers of sweats. No wonder I am shedding layers of clothes before I go outside. And no wonder the temperature outside does not feel so cold. My body is being trained to accept bitter coldness. 


In trying to come up with a thrifty alternatives to firing my uncle's heat up, I have come up with a few options. None of them are too reasonable though. For now, I have resorted to warm showers three times a day, standing by the oven while it is on, throwing clothes into the dryer, then taking them out and putting them on immediately, and resting my warm computer on my belly. Like I said, not very reasonable, and probably not maintainable. But, in my opinion, either is 56 degrees! 


For some reason, Jeff is subjecting himself to these same living conditions. He has set a goal to keep the heat bill below $30 a month. I think he will freeze to death before that happens. I have always thought it is painful to be cold. It's even more painful to be cold alone!