Wintering at the Pool instead of Aruba

"To wear the coat, or not to wear the coat?  That is the question."  Personal tropical vacation vs. sub-zero temperatures outside. We're all hot-blooded here, except Hubby.  Neighbors used to laugh when they told me they could never tell what the temperature was outside by looking at how the children were dressed.  I've always been the conscientious mom - coats, hats, scarves, mittens and gloves- were always bought or made every winter.  We have a laundry basket at the bottom of the coat closet filled with personalized scarves and what-not.  Hangers are filled with winter coats and snow pants.
The preferred garb is a hoodie.  Sometimes a hat.  Never gloves, unless you're going skiing, sledding, or ice-skating.  I used to chase them to the door, calling out that jeans are a better choice over gym shorts because there is a wind chill of -12, all to no avail.
Now, it's my turn.  My skin is often ready to spontaneously combust, 24/7.  I longingly glance at turtlenecks and heavy sweaters, knowing if I put one on I will be miserable all day long.  Besides, I'm just running from the car to the building - and in the morning, that's fine.  In the afternoon, however, the car hasn't been in the nice, warm garage, but in the freezing cold, and it takes awhile before it's sufficiently heated and my hands aren't frozen to the steering wheel.  And, while I've been wearing the coat this week (we had two hour delays two mornings this week because of the cold), I'm ready for the long sweater.  Hubby, on the other hand, has been zipping up the jacket, wrapping the scarf around his neck, burrowing his hands in his big, warm gloves.   At night, he puts on fluffy wool socks and climbs underneath three blankets.  He insisted we put flannel sheets on the bed.  He's happy and comfy all night long.  I'm not. I often wake up feeling as if I've been to the gym!  Ah, well, this too shall pass.
And, I guess I'll wear the coat.  Better to be safe than sorry.

Brr! The Water's too Cold!

Ah, mid-January, and the water is freezing.  No, I'm not talking about the actual temperature of the water outside - don't be silly!  We can see that it's frozen over, but the ice is way too thin to skate on! I'm talking about the warmth of the holidays ending, leaving in its wake the cold, harsh reality that those days are falling away from us, fast.
I often look at Hubby and myself as the lifeguards.  After all, we're the ones who have to keep the pool clean and make sure that nobody "drowns".  While the high holidays were upon us, the pool kept regular hours, everyone played nicely, and it was downright sunny!  Once those days were past, however, it pretty much ended.  Both only children, Hubby and I often don't get the sibling rivalry thing.  Our children do.  They are masters.  I'm glad to say that things have calmed down and now we're in for the long winter haul.  We're glad to see some of our favorite shows come back for a new season (remember when shows played from September through around the end of March and that was a season?).  "Once Upon a Time" is a fave, and everyone was sitting around the T.V. watching, wondering how things were going to weave together.  "Grimm" is another fave, and we're still waiting on that one.  "Merlin" apparently started last week, but we missed the first one.  Do you see the theme here? 
Of course, there is always the rot-gut that the children watch - I'm not even going to mention shows like "Moonshiners" and "Amish Mafia".  Makes one glad that the Kindle is stocked with good reads.  Maybe I'll even catch up on Facebook and get in a game or two of  Angry Birds.  And, of course, if I can muster enough energy, I'll get some good writing time in.  There are query letters to write and send, revisions to be made...the list never ends, and provides some bit of sanity in the stress pool.
Oh Summer, where art thou?
How do you get through the cold winter?  Do you see it as "getting through", or do you love it?