Rosie had her first honest-to-goodness cold. She's had sniffles before, but Monday she had a cough and that night she had a fever. She even did that thing where she was looking beyond you instead of at you - just kind of blank and unfocused. It was a bit unsettling. But she slept in and I guess got enough rest that her fever broke, though her cough was still here all day.
This makes me even happier that my mom was able to come over at the last minute to watch the kiddos Monday afternoon so I didn't have to take them out in the cold with me while I ran errands. It was 19 - one-nine - degrees when I checked at 9:30, and while I hate the cold, I hate taking small children out in it more.
I'd be the worst pioneer mom.
Who am I kidding, I'd be the worst pioneer. Full stop. The cold and I are not buds, and you'd better believe I would be less than thrilled at the prospect of not being able to fully thaw and get warm from October (or earlier) to April (or later).
Speaking of which...
Nate and I took a trip to Europe about 2 years ago. We visited Normandy, London, and a few different spots in Ireland in July. Granted, the US was in the midst of a heat spell and we left 90-100 degree weather, but the difference in the temperature was drastic. I found myself wearing layers to combat the chill, especially in the evenings.
Someone forgot to tell them, though.
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| "current hot weather" = high of 70 |
Check out these temperature charts from worldweatheronline.com:
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| Oh, how lovely, yes. One lump or two? |
It was on this trip that I realized why business suits and hot tea year-round make sense. When you've got temperatures like that in the heat of the summer, multiple layers are completely logical. But it kind of sucks for people in, say, Virginia.
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| Washington, D.C. Get it right, graph title! |
Look closely. They seem like they follow similar patterns, but if they were on the same graphs with the same gradation, the DC chart would be much steeper and further apart. There's practically no difference in temperature from November to March in London - a whopping 13 degree difference from the highest average high to the lowest average low. DC in the same time frame? 31 degree difference. And the span between high and low for individual months are also larger. January has a difference of 8 degrees for London, but 18 for DC; October sees a 10 degree difference in London, but 22 for DC. And overall, the average high yearly temperature to average low yearly temperature is separated by 34 degrees in London, but a whopping 61 in DC.
It's funnier for Louisburgh, my Irish grandmother's hometown. There's a total difference of 26 degrees. It's like living in an ever-so-slightly warmer, perpetual DC March.
Then you've got places like Minneapolis, where the span from average high to average low over the year is 73 degrees, or Albuquerque, where the average high and low for each month can regularly be 30 degrees or more. Our temperatures, in general, are practically bipolar compared to London.
I know that these graphs don't take into account the random outliers or heat waves or cold snaps, nor do they reflect the daily highs and lows that might be more reasonable than the monthly data, but I think it gives a fairly accurate idea as to just how different our climates are.
While I love my warmth and heat, I think it might be better for the sanity (and the wardrobe) if the weather was more stable than Sybil.
Ah well. Could be worse. Could be Fairbanks.
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