Archive for December 17th, 2008

One of the best parts of my parents living where they do is we can walk to get to good ethnic restaurants. One of the worst parts of my parents living where they do is that we have to walk to get to good ethnic restaurants…in five inches of unshoveled snow, a brisk wind, and teeth chattering cold.

I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but my oldest son has become a weather wimp. A down and dirty wuss when it comes to snow. Dude, you live in Colorado. Forty-nine of the fifty states believe it snows there all the freaking time. I went out and bought heavy duty weather gear for you and your brother because I KNOW. I grew up here; you don’t go outside in the winter without hats, gloves, scarves, those toe warmer things that you snap and they get warm and you stick ‘em in your boots and go “ahhhhhh….” Your idea of winter is me making you wear socks when there’s snow on the ground.

Walking to dinner last night, A kept up a running commentary about the cold. The snow. The wind. The cold wind blowing snow. Then he tripped over a curb and landed in the cold snow. Then it was just a running commentary about the cold. How the cold was numbing his nose. His ears. His lips so it was hard to talk. Dude, pull the neck thingy over your face and quit talking, your lips will warm up.

He complied. And then, lips held tightly together to keep them warm, continued his diatribe about the weather. Only my son.

The reward at the end of our two block walk was Thai food. Glorious, hot, fragrant Thai food. Give me a hot bowl of Tom Kha soup and I am one happy camper. Give me anything made with coconut milk and I’m a happy camper. The bonus to the dinner was that A ate. Ate heartily. Always good to see him eat, gives me hope that he won’t waste away to nothing. But for him to eat Thai food was doubly satisfying.

But all good things must come to an end, and back out into the night we went. Really, A, shut up already. Yes, it’s cold, yes, it’s snowy. But, for Crissakes, your father just pulled the “when I was your age I had to walk to school in weather like this and it wasn’t just over the back fence” line. Dude, this afternoon you’re going out and shoveling snow. Yeah, your grandparents live in a condo and it’ll probably all be shoveled by the time you get out there, but I’m sure I could find a few sidewalks for you.

And if you do a good job, I have some leftover green curry here to warm you up.