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Thursday, December 1, 2011

insulation

Welcome to December.  Ours is coming in like... well... December.  We've got snow, wind, grey skies, and c-c-cold. 

Here I am this morning at my crossing guard post.

Okay, not really, but close enough.  The only things missing are my (ratty and unfashionable) vest, stop sign, and the traffic.

So, yes, it was blustery cold, but I was toasty warm.  Warmer than my penguin friend, I bet. 

Twelve years ago, I was preggars with Meego.  I liked to go for walks in the evenings, and the evenings were getting chillier and chillier and my waist measurement was getting larger and larger.

I outgrew my own jacket and began wearing Magnum's for my nighttime excursions, which were just as much about "quiet time" as they were about pregnant-woman-walking.  I wasn't about to give those things up just because it was getting dark and cold.

So one evening as I was putting on the Man Jacket, Magnum said, "You should buy yourself a new jacket, you deserve it"  Translation:  I will pay you to stop wearing my jacket. 

Whatever, that was just the nudge I needed to go a-shopping!  This was back in the days of single-income-with-two-kids-and-one-on-the-way, and I rarely RARELY bought anything for myself without a thrift store tag.  And I wasn't about to skimp.  We lived in Utah at the time, and Utah winters can be c-c-cold too.  I went to Cabela's - "World's Foremost Outfitter" for my outfitting, and got me an ultimate women's parka, complete with adjustable waist drawstring. 

To this day, nothing I have ever worn has sheltered me from the wrath of winter like that parka.  I walked with Meego all through that pregnant winter, comfy and cozy the whole time, never foreseeing that someday I would be moonlighting as, of all things, a crossing guard.

As I was out there this morning, leading packs of bundled kids across the street, I realized that the parka and I are embarking on our 13th winter together.  And I was super warm and cozy.  And since NaBloPoMo for December kicks off today, asking us to write about a tangible gift,  I pay homage to the Cabela's World's Foremost Outfitter's Women's Ultimate Parka and to baby daddy Magnum.
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4 comments:

Rebecca S. said...

I remember my first parka...it was heavenly warm! My sister just moved to a much colder climate in winter. She went out and got herself, yes, you guessed it, a knee length parka with fur trimmed hood.

Linda Hensley said...

Great minds do think alike. I was appreciating my own coat the other day and counting backwards to how many years I've had it. Who needs fashion? I want warm! Love your "round" illo.

I hope Cookie finds his way home!

terri said...

We love us some Cabela's outerwear around here. My first parka though... it was red, with one of those "snorkel" hoods. I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world the year I got that for Christmas!

agg79 said...

Ya gotta love it when the gear/clothing you buy lasts well beyond the norm. I still wear my original Army camo field jacket from back in 80s when the temps drop to freezing. Cabela has some of the coolest gear that lasts for a lifetime.