Brrrrrrrrr
Well, winter arrived in Texas today. It was 80 degrees yesterday. Tonight it will be 22 or colder.
It's just crazy. I had to hurry to Houston yesterday morning when my best friend's mother fell and broke her leg. We thought we were going to make a turn-around trip to Houston--just to make sure she was OK and checked into the hospital, then to come back another day for her surgery. They decided they couldn't perform surgery for a week due to her mother's medications (blood-thinners), so she was discharged to come home today. She'll wait a week, then have surgery in San Antonio.
OK, all of that was difficult enough--the worry during the drive there (she had fallen and friends had called 911), the concern over her injuries (including a head injury requiring stitches), and the impossibility (or so we thought) of getting her home to San Antonio in the backseat of an SUV--but then we had the extra little hoop. We had to spend the night.
We had left our homes in balmy, 70 plus weather. In fact, when my friend called to ask me to come with her, I quickly changed to more "summery" clothes because the day was shaping up to be hot. By the time we dragged ourselves into the the luxurious hotel in Houston where we stayed, we were chilly, had everything we owned in grocery store plastic bags, and we were WAY too excited about the free food on the concierge level. Never did a package of Lays potato chips taste so good. After five hours in an emergency room, we had no pride as we raided the last of the free crackers and cheese and asked for more.
Before heading upstairs to the tenth floor, Best Friend stopped in the gift shop. "Let's buy some big T-shirts to sleep in", she suggested. She was holding two Houston Rockets tees, when I said, "If we are going to get these overpriced shirts--let's get Longhorn ones". So it was settled. She bought two burnt-orange shirts for us and we headed to our room.
We not only slept in them, we wore them all day today. The norther blew in and it was 38 and falling when we woke up. We brushed our teeth with the complimentary toothbrushes, found combs for our hair, and straggled out to the breakfast room. There we were, looking like two aging UT cheerleaders. We had forgotten we were suddenly the Bobbsey twins in orange, till people started coming up to us and saying, "How 'bout those horns?" (Huh?). Best Friend, who went to Texas Tech, kept making the "pistol" salute, till I showed her "hook-em". We rode the elevator with men who commiserated with us about the sad loss last week to Texas A & M. Best friend would insist to anyone who cared, "I only bought this shirt because I HAVE NOTHING ELSE" (and then enlighten them to the fact that we SLEPT in them), but I would talk football as best I could--dredging up whatever I had heard DH say last week about the team. We had to go to a locksmith to make new keys to leave when we took her mom back with us (friends would be checking in on her townhouse), and the locksmith excitedly told us as we came in, "I have a safe in the back with a Longhorn on it", and then looked disappointed when we assured him we weren't the rabid fans we seemed to be. I know he was thinking who would wear matching UT short-sleeved cotton t-shirts in 30 degree weather, but someone who wanted a Longhorn-emblemed safe? (Actually, at that point, if the safe had a heater, I was pretty darn interested in it.)
At the hospital, people would turn and stare at us two middle-aged, chubby matrons in our sporty UT tee-shirts walking down the corridors while around us all the sensible people were in turtle-necks and polar fleece. More than once, people grabbed me to say, "My son would love a shirt like that". Someone asked if we WERE twins. I started to think maybe one of us should have gotten that Houston Rockets t-shirt after all.
The worst of it though, was that it was COLD. And it still is COLD. And where on earth is it 80 degrees one day and 35 the next? Oh yes, TEXAS (home of the Longhorns, by the way...and I've got the shirt to show for it). Years ago, we lived in Connecticut (home of real winters), and perfect daughter was tired of the snow and ice and being cooped up. She said wistfully, "I miss Texas. Texas doesn't have winters. It has cold fronts."
Boy, howdy, she was right. And we're in the middle of one right now. That's not to say we still won't be able to barbeque on Christmas da-- but for tonight, I've ditched my Longhorn shirt in favor of non-logoed flannel jammies.
And, in them, I sit and post number ONE HUNDRED!!!!
It's just crazy. I had to hurry to Houston yesterday morning when my best friend's mother fell and broke her leg. We thought we were going to make a turn-around trip to Houston--just to make sure she was OK and checked into the hospital, then to come back another day for her surgery. They decided they couldn't perform surgery for a week due to her mother's medications (blood-thinners), so she was discharged to come home today. She'll wait a week, then have surgery in San Antonio.
OK, all of that was difficult enough--the worry during the drive there (she had fallen and friends had called 911), the concern over her injuries (including a head injury requiring stitches), and the impossibility (or so we thought) of getting her home to San Antonio in the backseat of an SUV--but then we had the extra little hoop. We had to spend the night.
We had left our homes in balmy, 70 plus weather. In fact, when my friend called to ask me to come with her, I quickly changed to more "summery" clothes because the day was shaping up to be hot. By the time we dragged ourselves into the the luxurious hotel in Houston where we stayed, we were chilly, had everything we owned in grocery store plastic bags, and we were WAY too excited about the free food on the concierge level. Never did a package of Lays potato chips taste so good. After five hours in an emergency room, we had no pride as we raided the last of the free crackers and cheese and asked for more.
Before heading upstairs to the tenth floor, Best Friend stopped in the gift shop. "Let's buy some big T-shirts to sleep in", she suggested. She was holding two Houston Rockets tees, when I said, "If we are going to get these overpriced shirts--let's get Longhorn ones". So it was settled. She bought two burnt-orange shirts for us and we headed to our room.
We not only slept in them, we wore them all day today. The norther blew in and it was 38 and falling when we woke up. We brushed our teeth with the complimentary toothbrushes, found combs for our hair, and straggled out to the breakfast room. There we were, looking like two aging UT cheerleaders. We had forgotten we were suddenly the Bobbsey twins in orange, till people started coming up to us and saying, "How 'bout those horns?" (Huh?). Best Friend, who went to Texas Tech, kept making the "pistol" salute, till I showed her "hook-em". We rode the elevator with men who commiserated with us about the sad loss last week to Texas A & M. Best friend would insist to anyone who cared, "I only bought this shirt because I HAVE NOTHING ELSE" (and then enlighten them to the fact that we SLEPT in them), but I would talk football as best I could--dredging up whatever I had heard DH say last week about the team. We had to go to a locksmith to make new keys to leave when we took her mom back with us (friends would be checking in on her townhouse), and the locksmith excitedly told us as we came in, "I have a safe in the back with a Longhorn on it", and then looked disappointed when we assured him we weren't the rabid fans we seemed to be. I know he was thinking who would wear matching UT short-sleeved cotton t-shirts in 30 degree weather, but someone who wanted a Longhorn-emblemed safe? (Actually, at that point, if the safe had a heater, I was pretty darn interested in it.)
At the hospital, people would turn and stare at us two middle-aged, chubby matrons in our sporty UT tee-shirts walking down the corridors while around us all the sensible people were in turtle-necks and polar fleece. More than once, people grabbed me to say, "My son would love a shirt like that". Someone asked if we WERE twins. I started to think maybe one of us should have gotten that Houston Rockets t-shirt after all.
The worst of it though, was that it was COLD. And it still is COLD. And where on earth is it 80 degrees one day and 35 the next? Oh yes, TEXAS (home of the Longhorns, by the way...and I've got the shirt to show for it). Years ago, we lived in Connecticut (home of real winters), and perfect daughter was tired of the snow and ice and being cooped up. She said wistfully, "I miss Texas. Texas doesn't have winters. It has cold fronts."
Boy, howdy, she was right. And we're in the middle of one right now. That's not to say we still won't be able to barbeque on Christmas da-- but for tonight, I've ditched my Longhorn shirt in favor of non-logoed flannel jammies.
And, in them, I sit and post number ONE HUNDRED!!!!
posted by herewegoagain at
11:00 PM
2 Comments:
congrats on # 100!!! I am very impressed - my commitment phobia would have put a stop to my blogging after three posts ;-)
As you bemoan your sad state in Houston, just remember that that same day two very cold people were in the backyard dragging your TWO TON plants into the garage and wrestling with sheets for the stationary tree-like thing because SOMEBODY (who just might care more about plants than children) did think to call and ask me to make sure they didn't freeze. You didn't ask how the Chihuahua was...no no. You didn't ask about your progeny...no, it was the plants on your mind! ;-)
By
Anonymous, at 6:14 PM
How WAS the chihuahua?
By
herewegoagain, at 10:11 PM
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