It’s been a cold winter so far. We had one cold snap so deep that the temperature was hovering around 0 when the kids were headed out to the bus stop. They don’t normally wear coats, let alone hats, gloves, scarves, or boots. I let that slide most of the time. Parents have to pick their battles, and this issue usually doesn’t seem worth the fight. I figure if the kids want to be cold, that’s their problem. But, on those several frigid mornings, I tried in vain to talk the kids into wearing any winter wear, even if it were only gloves. They absolutely refused. “It’s not that cold,” they said.
It was that cold, however, and as a mom, all I could think about were freak situations in which they’d need warm gear and didn’t have it. Like, say the bus broke down and there was no heat, or there was a fire alarm at school that forced the kids outside. I know such things aren’t likely, but I also know that it’s good to have a jacket when the temperature is below freezing.
When I mention this to other people, they say, “We were probably the same way when we were kids.” Were we, though? I definitely didn’t do everything my parents suggested I should, but I’m pretty sure I wore a jacket when it was that cold outside, because duh.