If this is as bad as it gets, we’re going to be fine. February is supposed to be the coldest month, and everyone in Lincoln tells me this is the harshest winter they’ve had in years. We’re up to about four feet in snow, which is turning into block ice. But our chickens are still alive, their eggs thaw out just fine, and we’ve quickly adapted to the new temperature. I’ve found the cold only bothers me when it drops below 10 degrees, and it only really upsets me below zero (those mornings I have to drive the kids to school at -8 are no fun). Jonah, who has the same internal thermostat as his father, runs from the trailer to the main house in a t-shirt and bare feet. It was all we could do to get him to come in at dark from the snow tunnel he’d been playing in all afternoon. In January he enthusiastically skied through a blizzard – he seems to be meant for the cold. Zora, for her part, thinks snow is a snack that grows on the ground and going “sledding” (pulled in a sled behind us while we ski) is the ideal time to nap, swaddled in snow clothes.
Having grown up in San Diego and the tropics, I have learned a lot about cold this winter. Here are my new rules for winter in Maine:
1. (Borrowed from Zora’s preschool) If your boogers are freezing inside your nose, it’s not a good day to play outside.
2. Warm the car up for at least 10 minutes before putting the baby in it.
3. Drive with gloves that have come from inside the house (if you leave your gloves in the car, they’ll start off so cold your hands won’t ever get warm).
4. Lift the windshield wipers off the windshield when you leave the car so they won’t get frozen on.
5. Give up on having diaper wipes in the car – they freeze into a block and stay that way for months. Carry a few in your purse instead.
6. Give up on having a clean car during the winter. The mud and salt return within 5 minutes of a car wash.
7. Forced air heating is a good way to inspire the kids to dress quickly (in the brief “window of opportunity” that the heat is pouring out).
8. Kids “cool off” in time-out out much more quickly when they have to stand outside.
So, where do you find romance in Lincoln, Maine in the middle of February? Zach and I have had some very nice “lunch dates” skiing on the lake midday while the kids are in school/daycare. One Saturday night we went out to the local Chinese institution and discovered they serve tiki drinks! I had figured my chances of finding tropical cocktails north of Bangor were pretty much nill, but right here in our town, next to the Marden’s fire and salvage, is a little oasis. A-yup. But the real action this month was at the kindergarten. Jonah was torn between two girls, the one who had already asked him to be her boyfriend (Olivia) and the one he really likes (Chloe). He came home one afternoon and announced he was “switching over” to Chloe. Among his school papers was a heart-shaped cutout upon which he had written the following declarations: “I am redee for valentine’s day beccuz I already have a girlfrend!” and “I love Chloe becuz she lafs at my joks.” Over the next few days, statements of love from Chloe (with drawings of flowers and pagodas, since they’re studying Chinese new year) appeared in Jonah’s backpack. Then one day he came home married, wearing a ring made out of a pipe cleaner and a gold bead. Apparently things had started out “all tangled up,” with Olivia proposing to Jonah and Jonah’s best friend Noah propositioning Chloe. Jonah swiftly redirected Noah to Olivia and proposed to Chloe himself, offering her one of a pair of matching rings he forged in art class. “I got it all straightened out,” he announced after school, over cookies and milk. May it always be so easy, love.
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