Penguin Party

Today I want to know how people in Antarctica survive the cold. Yes, I know. It takes all kinds of people to survive in this world, and without diversity, our lives would be listless and boring. They always say that you can add layers to get warm, but I have yet to find the right kind of layers to do just that. Lately, the fangs of winter are biting hard. I could be standing directly on top of the heat register and still feel a chill up my spine. Oh, how I miss the days of my youth.
 
With a little research, of course, I found that many people deliberately book Antarctica cruises and expeditions. Have these people lost their ever-loving minds? I can safely say this is not on my bucket list. I will let National Geographic host my personal tour. The packing list alone is out of my budget. Everything must be waterproof and windproof and don’t forget you will need two or three complete changes of clothes including light, medium, and heavy thermal underwear. Sorry. I have never wanted to party with the penguins just to see a huge chunk of ice. Okay, just say it. I am narrow-minded and shallow.
 
Now, who would not love to see polar bears and their cubs frolicking in the snow. I just think it is a lot more fun to do it at the zoo.
 
But today, I feel like I am already on a long-term assignment. The overnight low is predicted to only be 15⁰ and that is not really earth-shatteringly cold. So why are these bones shivering so recklessly in my boots?
 
Full disclosure? I started a new full-time job last month. If the cold weather and the learning curve were not enough to send old bones spiraling into oblivion, within one week I also tested positive for Covid. I had dodged that rusty old bullet for two years and was hit with body aches and a headache that I can only describe as epic – the worst “flu” I have ever experienced. Now, as a prisoner in my own home, it is no more than a slow crawl back to some sense of normalcy. It took a full three days for food to finally decide to actually remain to nourish my body. The weakness that ensued was humbling.
 
If not for the kindness of family, friends, and neighbors I would most likely still be sitting here fully thrust into a private pity party. As we finally bid farewell to January, I count my blessings that we are one month closer to the end of the gloom and doom days of winter.
 
Yet for today, I am just thankful that I am not shoveling out of a significant snowfall. Mr. Weatherman missed the mark again. We may hit below zero temperatures by mid-week, so I will just take today’s tropical heat wave as a sign that Frosty is getting ready to pack his bags, hit the road, and go anywhere he can work for freezer space. Ah, but that is fodder for yet another rant.
 

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