Wool

That's Debbie in the middle

I was feeling a bit antsy yesterday so I decided to take the dogs for a little walk. When the weather turns chilly, like near freezing or colder, I usually just open the back door and tell them to hurry up and pee. But not yesterday. I put on a sweatshirt, my big winter coat, a scarf, gloves, knit hat, and told Scout that she was up first. All I have to do is touch her harness that hangs in the hallway and Scout starts bouncing off the walls. She does like her walkies. As I was putting on all my winter gear, I was reminded of when I was a little boy and Mom would get me ready for the deep freeze. Layers of sweaters, shirts, and then the heavy coat. Coats were not lightweight back in the 1950s. My coat was a heavy woolen thing that got heavier the longer it was on me. Around my neck Mom wound an itchy woolen scarf. Clipped to the sleeves of the coat were my mittens. Also wool. All this was topped off by a hat with ear flaps, and yes, it was wool. All that was for cold weather. If snow was added to the equation, boots were required. Big rubber boots with a row of snapping buckles that I had a very hard time snapping into place. Not to mention getting those clunky things on over my shoes. It was a big deal to go outside in the winter.

As I walked along the sidewalk with Scout, all warm and toasty in my winter clothes, I thought about those times as a child. Here I was an adult, still wrapped up in sweaters and shirts with a big heavy coat. I had my gloves on and a warm knit hat along with a scarf around my neck while Scout sniffed and peed her way around the block. But there was one big difference between yesterday and when I was five years old. Nothing was made out of wool. Itchy, smelly, uncomfortable wool.