Is This Illinois or Florida?!

Lately, the weather here in Central Florida has been pretty darned close to winter in Chicago. We've had freeze warnings several nights this week. Yes, freeze warnings, i.e. the temps. have been dipping below 32 degrees. Brrrrrr! I never want to hear the words freeze and Florida uttered in the same sentence, unless it's in the context of "Freezes never occur in Central Florida."

But sadly, those words are not true, and my thinned-out Floridian blood has been causing me to shiver and pile on the layered clothing whenever I go out at night. I have a couple of jackets, but nothing thick enough to ward off temps. in the 30s and 40s. I know that I need to buy one, but I am stuck in some sort of stubborn denial. Perhaps I should buy one; for all I know, I'm the reason for all this freezin'. After all, I've learned through trial and error that I can ward off rain simply by carrying an umbrella with me. If I leave it in the care, telling myself, "Those dark clouds don't mean a thing," I'll inevitably get caught in a downpour. If I grab the umbrella, it will stay dry as a bone, even if the clouds are pitch black.

Following that same theory, maybe I just need to buy a winter coat. If I buy it, no doubt I'll never need to use it, and that would definitely be worth the investment.

The really sad thing is that I'm not only hearing the word freeze but also that obscene phrase wind chill. A wind chill here in Celebration?! Has the world gone mad?! But supposedly we've got one in the 20s tonight...again, something more suited for Chicago.

Of course, I was foolish enough to buy a few flats of flowers two weeks ago. I lovingly planted them around Duloc Manor, thinking that I was in the clear. Now, I've been out for several nights straight, covering the ones in the flower beds and hauling in the others that I planted in pots. So far they've all survived, but they're in for another round of freezing tonight, and I don't know how much more their delicate constitutions can take.

My husband proved that he is certifiably insane the other night...he actually suggested that we go into the hot tub!!! Worse yet, I am probably crazier than him because I took him up on it. We've both been so busy with work that we haven't made it out into the bubbly, therapeutic water in ages. Finally we had a quiet evening, so he enticed me out into the yard, wrapped like a mummy in a robe and towel. I unwrapped my cloth "bandages" and sprinted into the hot tub in record breaking time. Once you're in, the hundred degree water negates the cold outside. Problem is, there is a physics rule that states: What goes in must come out. Ugh!!!!

After putting off the inevitable as long as possible, I lept up from the water, launched myself down the steps, and galloped into the back door like an Olympic sprinter. Yes, the soak and jet message was worth it...but just barely.

Over the next week the temps. are supposed to slowly but surely climb back up to normal. In the meantime, I am tolerating the deep freeze by repeating my new meditation mantra: "Chicago is single digits...Chicago is single digits..." That mantra never fails to remind me that freezing is all a matter of perspective.