Happy Valentine’s Day from my warm heart to yours.

I’m beginning to understand why my dear neighbors are concerned about me. From time to time they have urged me not to walk when it is cold. I say the same thing each time, that I’m warm and much prefer being cold to boiling under the summer sun. I almost had to eat those words today. Not quite, but almost.

I looked at two different weather forecasts last night, both of which said it was going to get cold during the night. Before going to bed, I did the tap dance – going around the house to turn on the cold water taps to keep the pipes from freezing. When I woke, I saw that the temperature was not in the teens. I didn’t think it was dangerously cold. I wore a top, sweat shirt, jeans, and windbreaker, not my warm coat. Not knowing I should have been cold, I walked as carefree as usual. I was shocked to look at the thermometer when I came back in. It was 24, not 34. Freezing is 32. I was only one digit off on the right side.

Doing a quick mental check, I found my feet toasty warm. Fingers, cheeks, and ears were only slightly cool. No harm done! My heart was as warm as always.

Going forward, I’m going to use the end of the driveway as my testing point. Last week I turned around there and hung my hat on the doorknob and should have left my windbreaker, as well. Today I wasn’t tempted to go back for another layer of clothing, and I was right. Again, Happy Valentine’s Day from my warm heart to yours.