Baby, It's Cold Outside

Poppy and Rooster waiting to get back inside where it is warm!

My daughters joined us this week from their homes down south (Tallahassee and Atlanta) just in time to experience the incredible temperature change we experienced--a high of 60 on the 29th to a high of 23 of the 30th. It reminded them of why they fled Ohio, even though conditions were not much better back home. Their kids think of Ohio as the place it snows because in their memories, we always have snow on the ground.

Equally traumatized by the weather are our Boston Terriers, Poppy and Rooster. Poppy's hair is so short that if you place your hand against her chest or belly it is like touching a new-born baby. She wears a shirt during the summer until the temperature soars above 80 degrees. So in the winter, she wears a sweater, a winter coat and boots to protect her feet. Rooster is less impacted by the cold but still gets the coat and boots treatment. They hate the boots until they are in the snow and realize they can go wherever they want without freezing their toes off.

Watching Poppy psyche herself up to go outside in the cold is like watching an old cartoon. Once I open the door to the porch, she backs up and then begins to shake her entire body, head to tail, like a rocket engine in a launch sequence before bursting forward, full speed, to run out the door, across the porch and down the steps into the yard. She immediately freezes in place once she is in the yard so she can do her business and once she is done, she heads back towards the house. Rooster is the opposite: he mosies along, sniffing everything, trying to find the perfect place to do his business. Even when he is clearly uncomfortable, he cannot be rushed. The spot must be right, or he cannot go.

Poppy, watching from the porch, realizes she isn't as cold as she expected to be, so she will come back off the porch to do some exploring of her own. She seems fine all of the sudden, as Rooster searches for his spot. If she happens to notice when he is squatting, she will race across the lawn in hopes of crashing into him while he is indisposed, just for the fun of it. The second he finishes, whether or not she crashed into him, she races back to the back door, ready to go inside.

The highlight of this week was watching my 90-year-old mom interacting with her five grandsons (ages, 7, 4, 3, 1 and 1.) Mom has been alive for more than one third of the history of the United States. That's hard to fathom. And to see her with these boys, who will live into a future we haven't yet imagined.... It reinforces my need to work towards building a society where everyone is valued for their unique contributions and we see the value in each and every one of us.

Happy New Year. Please take time to care for those members of our community that need support. No one needs to be hungry or cold. We cannot abide cruelty.

And now, thanks to our friends at Black Rose Writing, Love: a novel of grief and desire is available to you at a discount! Save 20% on your purchase when you buy directly from the publisher. Just use the promo code SEASON20 at the link below. The discount is good through January 31, 2026.

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