Guest AuthorI’ve noticed that as we get older, we become more sensitive to temperature.
In our youth it really didn’t bother us. If it was cold, we put on a sweater or sweatshirt; if it was hot, t-shirts were the order of the day.
We didn’t think twice about going outside on a snowy day to play. Now we do.
Thanks to arthritis invading our joints along with muscle spasms, we become much more aware of temperature and constantly seek comfort from the thermostat. This probably explains why so many people from the North migrate to the South in winter.
Seniors who stay in the North during winter are inclined to keep a tight rein on the temperature dial. To illustrate, my in-laws in Cincinnati had a big house. Yet, in winter they kept the temperature in the 80’s. It was so warm inside that you would be sweating while it was frozen outside.
While other houses had snow on the roof, my in-laws’ roof was dry, even crispy. The radiating heat created a greenhouse effect whereby there was a dry three-yard perimeter around the house where foliage flourished and the grass remained green.
It is a strange sight to see crocus and daffodils in full bloom when it’s minus 30 degrees outside. There was no need to shovel snow near the front door as the cement was so toasty, you could walk barefoot outside.
In the summer, the house became Ice Station Zebra. They kept it so cold, you could see your breath and the windows were frosted requiring the occasional scraping and use of ice picks.
Spring and autumn are the awkward months as people go back and forth between the furnace and the air conditioner.
Here in Florida, we have learned to live with the heat as our friends in the North have learned to live with the snow. As for me, I’ll gladly take the heat. I lived my first 30 years in the North, and I remember too well the bulky layers of clothing, shoveling driveways, and being forced to stay indoors.
In Florida, I wear comfortable shorts year round, particularly when I do yard work. As an aside, if we learn a rare frost is in the offing, we cover our plants outside with old bed sheets.
Visiting northerners find it amusing to see our plants “put to bed” for the evening.
Even in Florida though, we become sensitive to the temperature as we get older. Most of the time we are unaware of it.
For example, my daughter recently came for a visit and complained how cold it was in the house.
Frankly, I hadn’t thought about it before she made the observation. I then walked around the house to make sure there was no frost on the windows requiring scraping.
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Tim Bryce is a freelance writer in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. http://timbryce.com/ Column courtesy of Context Florida.
