Today's Flowers: Sea Oats

Adella and I are less than a month away from Topsail.  Maeve and Clyde will make the trip with us, and they'll be happy to thaw out, too.  The intense cold we've had lately has gotten me to thinking about what below-zero days do to people over time.  We rush from igloo to igloo, we huddle to conserve body heat, we curl up inside our over-sized clothing, we drink too many warm drinks, we go to bed early so we can turn the heat down....We wake up early to eat oatmeal and other hot, soggy things that stick to our ribs and warm us up on the way down.  People who live year round in warmer climates can't imagine the tension that shapes our bodies and our minds.

Last week was Spirit Week at school, and Thursday was Throwback Thursday.  I wore an old friend's chunky wool sweater straight out of the 80s.  My students couldn't believe it was almost 30 years old.  Not only is it in great condition but also it looks like what I wear every other day.  For once, my sense of fashion was on target!  One of our guidance counselors told me she had stuff like that back in the day.  But she threw it out.  "Where you from?" I asked.  I knew right there she wasn't local.  Nobody from here throws away wool for recycled soda bottle fake fleece.  "Brooklyn," she said.  

I think I'll thaw out 80s style tomorrow, too.  

Today's Flowers