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:
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.
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!
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!
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.
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