It can get cold in winter. We are approaching the mid-point of winter, which I take to be February 4. After that date, winter is on the way out. That doesn't mean things are guaranteed to be easier. We can get some strong storms, heavy wet snow that breaks power and phone lines but right now, we still have more to go than we have traveled.
We get our newspaper and mail in a box on a post at the end of our driveway. It's not long, maybe two and a half car lengths but to get the daily deliveries, we have to go outside. If the cold is serious, say more than ten Farenheit degrees below zero, we could open the garage door, back the car down the driveway, pull up to the mail and newspaper boxes, pull the deliveries in, drive back up the driveway and be inside the protective car the whole time. When it is seriously cold, any wind matters.
Using the car is not something this male mail retriever (MMR) usually does. Too much trouble. What with global warming and more erratic weather, we have actually not had the 40 degrees below zero of earlier years. Today is one of the colder days recently and it is still a couple of degrees above zero and very little wind. Even though it is a bit of a bother to put on separate shoes so that I can remove them when I return and not track up our floors, it is better in the long run to take the time to change into outdoor shoes and then back to slip-on loafers. The more times I expose my hands to the cold, the more likely fissures will develop, little breaks in the elderly skin that take a while to heal. If I am patient enough to get gloves and wear them I can forestall that condition. A good MMR will get the gloves and maybe a parka to the door before donning the outdoor shoes. Otherwise, there is a temptation to tromp across the floor for the gloves wearing salty, sandy soles. I have been a MMR for several decades and I intend to keep on!
