I was blessed with the opportunity to live on Kauai for two years and I can earnestly say that Jack and I thoroughly enjoyed the tropical climate and weather associated with it. The problem is that it made us both absolutely intolerant of Winter upon returning to the mainland. Jack hates Winter so much that he secretly has never forgiven me for moving home. He went from the tropical paradise where he got to chase crabs on the beaches, numerous frogs on the trail that we hiked daily, geckos inside and outside the house and the random wild chicken that was unfortunate to cross his path. Jack has very short hair and a pink, speckled, nearly bare tummy to go with it. To say he hates snow is a severe understatement. I think he would much rather experience the thermometer in the but treatment every time he goes to the vet than stick one paw outside the door during the Winter months. There are days during the Winter time that the only time that he bothers to poke his head out from the covers of the bed is when he absolutely cannot ignore the urge to urinate any further. Winter is not Jack's thing.
The interesting things is, I have almost the same feelings about Winter as he does. I'm a Montana native and in my life before Kauai, I was used to the 5-6 month time period known as a Montana Winter. Wearing board shorts, t-shirts and flip flops everyday for a 2 year period seems to completely robbed of any sort of enthusiasm for the short days and long, cold nights associated with this time of year. I used to be an avid skier who would brave any day of extreme cold in the pursuit of powder. Now i can think of when it comes to skiing is how cold I am going to get when riding up the chairlift. I hate Winter so much that I find myself counting down the days until the official first day of Spring (which really doesn't signal the end of Winter here). Like Jack, Winter is not my thing anymore either.
I hate being cold, I loathe being cold. Once I get chilled, it takes forever for me to warm up and frequently requires a long hot shower. The last few years I wore a North Face softshell jacket that did nothing but promote a profound sense of misery anytime I had to venture outside. This year I decided to change all of that. This year I went to our local REI and explained somewhat too animatedly to a staff member that I was tired of being cold outside and that I needed a Winter coat that would keep me toasty warm in the worst of Winter conditions. "What you need is a good down coat", is the answer that I got. A down coat? Who still wears down coats anymore? Apparently people who like to stay warm do. So I bought a nice 800 fill blue Marmot jacket and wandered my way outside expecting to be miserable for the next 6 months.....and was hugely surprised. I absolutley cannot believe the world of difference this super light coat has made in my life during these Winter months. I actually enjoy being outdoors during freezing weather and my daily walks with the dogs are actually enjoyable since I'm not freezing my ass off. So I can proudly say that I'm in love with a Winter down coat. It's too bad that I can't get one for poor JackJack, I'm sure he would hate Winter far less and would stop punishing me for moving home from the island by puking in the apartment every week.
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