Chilled to the Bone

I worked on the NYS DOH Nursing Home Complaint Hotline Friday and it was a slow day. Better to be slow than hear too many horror stories about the care in nursing homes across the State. Also it is always nice to see my old friends on the Hotline – they are a nice bunch of people.
The last call I received before leaving for the day was concerning a 65 year old man who had had a stroke (aka a CVA or Cerebral Vascular Accident). He was aphasic (unable to speak) as a consequence of his stroke and his cognitive abilities were impaired. Believe me, when you are one month short of your 65th birthday, you don’t like hearing this kind of story. It does however give me more incentive to get on my treadmill and follow my cardio-fit diet a bit more closely. See, working once in awhile has its benefits.

On Saturday Bob and I took our grandson, Connor, to his ski lessons at Maple Ski Ridge. The slops were practically empty and only 3 out of 8 kids in his class showed up for the lesson. Can’t say as I blame them. Considering the wind chill, the temperature was about 10 degrees below zero. Connor didn’t bat an eye. Typically the kids sit out in the snow and have their mid-lesson break of animal crackers and water but this Saturday the instructor brought them inside the ski lodge for snack. I’m sure they wanted to take extra care to avoid any cases of hypothermia. Connor’s class is just one of many classes and it is amazes me to see all these tiny people moving around on skis. I guess four and a half years of age is a good time to begin skiing. Connor seems to love it and in spite of the sub-zero weather hung in there for the entire hour and a half lesson. But Connor's Mema isn't as resilient as her grandson. Even though I stood outside in this bitter cold and watched my dear, sweet grandson for most of his lesson, it was a mighty struggle.
I succumbed to the temptation of an indoor hot chocolate break and a couple of bathroom excursions. Near the end of the lesson, I caved and left Bob all alone to wait for Connor's dismissal. I could no longer feel my toes and my fingers felt like icicles. I ran back to the car and struggled to get the car door opened. My fingers were so cold I could hardly maneuver my keys even though all I needed to do was click the lock open symbol. Finally, I slid into the front seat and took in the beautiful sun streaming through the car windshield. The car felt wonderful to me. It blocked the bitter wind and it was pleasantly warm after having sat directly in the sun for two hours.
Eventually, Connor and Bob walked back to the car hand in hand. Connor was all smiles and no worse for the wear. I had packed a lunch and we ate and visited in the car on the way back to Diane’s house. I noticed Connor’s hands were toasty warm. Mine were still freezing. It took me the rest of the day, the rest of the evening and far into the night to finally warm up again. I now have a much better understanding of the resiliency of youth and what it actually means to be chilled to the bone.
Mema Mary Beth
PS Connor is the little guy in the big white helmet