Rain...We've been prepared

After living at The Old Place for 12 years, one of the things we learned to deal with was rain. It is pretty much a constant element of daily life there and for the first few years it was a great struggle to manage it. Now I see the beauty of it...

Here, at The New Place, apparently during the Fall and Winter it is likewise the rain capital of our host country! This morning we trudged to school, 7 umbrellas lifted high, 7 wet pairs of boots, 7 pairs of pants wet up to the knee by the time we rolled into the school building. Of course, the main difference here is that we no longer have a massive White chariot that takes us from the driveway where we only get 30 seconds of rain exposure to our destination all in the climate-controlled cabin. No here we live in the weather. Now, lest I sound too dramatic, we have shelter and I am fully aware that many, many around the world do not. But it is a significant change from our life at The Old Place.

When the weather is cold here, we must dress for it. Each day I lay out 2-3 layers of clothing for the kids to don before they depart for school. It is not that the temperature outside is really that cold, BUT, the temperature INSIDE is the same as outside, so being in 45 degrees all the time causes one to feel quite chilly. Thus, the layers are our defense. Right now the wind is blowing outside of my Teaching office, the rain is pouring and it is about 45 degrees. All the windows are wide open and the breeze is blowing in over my desk as I type. As the weather gets even colder, we will experience it fully while INSIDE the building as well.

Last night we ran out for a shopping trip to the department store to find ELECTRIC BLANKETS. Each night this week our bed (Dad's and mine) has been filling up with cold little nighttime refugees that have kicked off their blankets and are seeking warmth. It only took us 20 minutes and two shoppers who were accosted by the store clerks to translate what we were looking for. We were mistakenly shopping in the bedding department where one finds sheets, pillows, comforters and BLANKETS. Once the lucky shopper number 2 understood my English/charades game, the clerk took us to the other part of the store...where one buys washing machines, space heaters and ELECTRIC BLANKETS. We were only able to come up with two, but were pleased nonetheless with our hunting/gathering expedition.

The point of the reference to the shopping trip was that the store was HEATED. It was probably heated to 70 degrees and we, three kids and myself were smoldering in the central heating. We were stripping off layers of clothing like the house was on fire (I don' t think that really applies to what I'm describing, but it's cold in here and my brain isn't as quick as usual).

Once we returned to our apartment building, Magpie said, "I don't think we can cut it in Central Heat anymore Mom...that's just too hot." Remembering that I was always fussing at The Old Place if the heat dipped down to 68 instead of 70, I chuckled. All that money we spent on heating when we had tons of clothing in the closets.

This old dog may be learning some new tricks...