It was long, green and ugly, and I loved it.
The bright morning was typical April as I rummaged through the consignment store looking for summer clothes—jeans or T-shirts. The last thing on my mind was a down-filled winter coat.
But there it was. Only $15 and perfect for the most frigid January day.
This was not a fashion statement, I thought, as I slipped it on, it was survival. The sleeves were a tad short, but that could be taken care of with heavy wool mittens.
I had found the perfect “way-below-zero” coat to add to my cold weather ensemble of heavy wool mittens, long woolen scarves and boots filled with 1500 grams of Thinsulate.
I bought the green coat that April morning, and stored it, happy that I wouldn’t be wearing it for another eight months, knowing that some cold winter day in the future, I would be delighted to pull it from my closet.
Summer passed. September and October flew by and soon the calendar turned to November.
Mind you, I wasn’t eager for one of those early cold snaps we get around Thanksgiving, but each time I glimpsed the green coat, I couldn’t help feeling smug. I was ready. Winter had nothing on me.
December came and went, offering temps in the single digits with an occasional below zero morning, but nothing cold enough to warrant the green coat.
New Year’s Eve was pleasant, not balmy but not horrifically cold. The coat hung. As the first week of January passed, I wondered if this would be one of those warm winters. I can’t say I was hoping for a miserably glacial day, but—put it this way—I’d be disappointed if my coat spent the winter unused.
Time passed. The coat hung.
Finally, the day came.
A raging wind howled out of the northwest. Frost formed on living room windows. My pug refused to go outside to do his business—a sure sign of frigid weather. Clearly, the temperatures had plummeted.
“It’s twenty-six below!” I announced to Dick as I peered at the thermometer through an icy dining room window.
The big day had come—the day for my winter coat to make its debut.
I slipped into the sleeves. The heavy down filling hung heavy but wonderfully warm. I pulled on a warm hat, double wrapped a wool scarf around my neck, pulled on my insulated boots and headed out into the sub-zero air.
I won’t admit to being happy that morning as the wind almost pushed me over and my eyelashes frosted shut, but I was warm. Finally, the perfect day for my 20 -below-zero coat.
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