The Gloves Are On.
We’ve fallen back now and I’m wearing striped mittens about every other morning.
It takes so much energy - Sam Brown (www.explodingdog.com)
The cold creeps in and I have to reassure myself that I can’t actually feel the days getting shorter. I think it’s important to write about this, right now, as part of internal winterizing that has started to feel necessary in preparation for the East Coast between November and March. I will spend the next few months putting on more layers, poking out of some ridiculous pom-pomed hat to tell people, “I’m a Western Girl.” I say it like it’s a proper noun. This becomes shorthand for people, who understand: There’s not enough sun here for me. I get nostalgic for mountains, clean snow, and wearing sunglasses on Christmas Day. I’m allergic to wool, so I will never sport the proper pea coat and hugging people in stylish sweaters makes me a little bit itchy.
Still, New York is something of a cold weather marvel. We’re all in this together. Or, at least, we’re all in this train together. In our hats and coats. This year is the first time I’ve commuted into midtown on a regular basis. The fancy hotels have heat lamps under their awnings and the doormen wear booties on their hats when it rains or sleets. The holidays are a mad rush of a mixed bag. I feel like people will walk faster for the next couple of months, if that’s possible. It’s alternately invigorating and exhausting.
I remind myself: last year was better than the year before. And this year will be better than last. Better than sun lamps is the actual morning sun, which starts to feel kind of magical right about now. If I crawl out of bed early enough, I can get outside to a quieter Williamsburg and get a dose. Squinting in the sun is a bother in August. It’s such a blessing in January.
The to-dos are simple but important: good hats, hot drinks, lots of stretching, spinach, (itchy) hugs, exercise, mornings, good media, looking out from beneath the pom pom, and sending out lots of love to the universe. That last bit is what really makes us warm, anyways.
