Who is the Dumbass Taking Photos in This Weather?

Well, took Dad in for his tests this morning. I mean, that's why I'm here. We, unsurprisingly, had the start of a tiff on the drive in. I reminded both of us that 95% of arguments are because someone in the argument is hungry, and, well, he had been fasting for around 30 hours at this point, so maybe, we can hand each other some grace. He calmed, I calmed, we arrived safely and on time to the medical facility.

The temperature was -22˚C, again, still, when we arrived. I commented to Dad that I was going to walk to the nearest Starbucks for breakfast while he was having his tests done. He looked at me like I was crazy. I was going to walk? It is cold. Most people would drive. Why would I walk? I explained that the walk was all of a 9 minute walk, why wouldn't I walk? THE WEATHER, he repeated.

Well, he's not exactly wrong. It is cold.

He checked in, we waited, he was called back, he went.

After he was gone, I bundled up, pulled on my backpack, and left the medical facility and started walking down the long driveway. I wondered if I wanted to hop into the truck and drive the distance of 9 minutes walking instead of walking. I haven't been moving much in this cold weather, most outdoor activities off-limits because of terribly cold temperatures. Maybe I should drive, I could feel all the cold places the wind was finding in my clothing. The sidewalk might not be shoveled. The wind was really cutting. All the reasons not to walk.

And as I stood at the end of the driveway, I realized those reasons were why I should walk the nine minutes to the corner. Yes, it was cold, I had clothes that were on the low end of reasonable, but they should be warm enough. There are enough businesses along the way if I were in trouble, I could step into a government building or store and warm up. I would be moving, which would keep me warm. I wasn't really in any danger of freezing, and the movement would feel so good.

So, I walked down the street.

It was cold.

It was really cold. -29˚C with the windchill. I felt my legs start to cool, then chill as I walked.

I made the whole experience colder by stopping.

Because look! The sidewalks were begging (begging) to be macro photographed!

But, yeah, I was chilled when I arrived, 11 minutes later.

Before my walk back, I adjusted my layers, making sure the gap between my silks and socks was gone and my gloves were on before leaving.

The walk did, indeed, feel good. Brisk.