Warmth...

I remember the heat vent upstairs in the house I grew up in.  It was in the hallway, by the windows.  If there was another source of heat for the bedrooms up there, I don't remember (although I don't recall ever being cold, exactly).  I DO remember standing over that vent in my flannel nightgown on more than one Christmas Eve, warm and waiting....

I remember the steam radiators in my old apartment in Buffalo.  They were slow to get going, but once they did, they'd fog the windows with warmth...

I remember the beach house that I lived in during medical school.  It had only one heat vent for the entire tiny house.  The last person to bed opened everyone's bedroom doors to let in some heat, and the first one up closed them to keep in the quiet.  All THREE of us would stand over that vent in our nightclothes to warm up...

Today was our first really cold day of the season.  When I went out to walk the dogs this morning there was a gust of cold wind, the kind that makes your nostrils pinch and your throat shut tight so you can't breathe for a minute.  It soaked into me, and lasted until now.

But now I am sitting on the heat vent in my living room, with a blanket to keep any of the warm air from escaping.  My fingers and toes are finally warm, and my ears can't be far behind.

Thank God for the blessing of warmth.

DeeDee