The Season

'Tis the season to...

...Set the Costco-sized bottle of Eucerin in its place by the sink. Anything to assuage these cracked, burning knuckles. Slap on the lotion and squint when it stings. Remind yourself it has to hurt to feel better.

...Turn on the oven. Use any excuse to bake. That's why we get these saddle-bags on our thighs this time of year. Christmas cookies aren't the only reason. Neither are prime rib and creme brulee the only culprits. Nor the red-and-green candy. Because 70 degrees on the thermostat just doesn't feel warm anymore. If you have a packet of chocolate chips in the cupboard, you bake cookies. And you turn on the oven extra early and let it warm up. Then you hover next to it while the cookies are baking, hands extended. Watching. Wishing for fuzzy slippers.

...Curl into a ball like a fox at night. A chill hangs over the top layers of covers, like a ghost floating inches from your face. You can feel the cold in your toes because you don't have a tail to wrap around them. They stick out of your curled-up ball. That's why you can't let your children into bed with you this time of year, because they kick off the blankets and let you freeze.

...Unpack the gloves, even though you're just walking out to the car, because the steering wheel is still so cold, you barely want to touch it. Icicles gather on the windshield like tiny flowers, blinding you when you drive into the sunshine. Time to learn how to use the defrost button in the mini-van. Just one of those things you never had to know before, in your old life.