C'old' Age!

As I wave goodbye to another birthday and consider an ever closer ‘milestone‘ age, I have to ask - what is it about our age and whether we are hot or cold? I have to comment that I think the different parenting roles have a different view - just my observation so nothing meant by it... As women and mums get older they appear to get much warmer with the odd hot flush thrown in for good measure. As for us men or maybe it’s just dads or just me... we seem to get colder. I never used to have to wear a t-shirt, fleece, gilet and coat with gloves and a hat when I left the house. Nowadays, I look more like I’m going on an expedition rather than a quick walk to stretch the legs in lockdown. Especially strange when my wife wears a thin top and a lightweight jacket. Surely one of us is wrong! As I look around at all the other lockdown walkers desperate for some kind of change of scenery to the four walls of their house, I see it’s more than likely me! Michelin Man doesn’t do it justice!

Another reason I link it to dads is because of my own Dad. Whenever we used to visit, when the kids were young and even before we had kids, I’d end up walking around the house with my trousers rolled-up and looking for scissors to cut off the arms of my t-shirt!!! These days, well pre Coronavirus when you could visit parents and grandparents, I’m commenting on “how nice the warmth is” and “can I move the seat by the fire” or “it’s lovely here by the Aga”. Ten years ago I would have had to keep sticking my head out of the kitchen door or a window to cool down!!

So, it must be a combination of growing old and becoming an ‘older’ Dad.

Maybe our inner heat is stolen by the kids. Maybe that’s part of the parenting process - something to do with handing over some of your DNA to someone else. They never seem to be cold, unless you include the late autumn beach trips when their fingers go white at the tips and you need to warm them through with a nice cup of hot chocolate. I mean in general they don’t seem to feel the cold. These days my daughter wears the thinnest things possible and never wears socks or slippers in the house and my son is kept so warm by the 'heat output' from a plethora of gaming tech in his room, a simple t-shirt is all that’s needed.

The kids don’t seem to understand either. “Shouldn’t you put a top on” I might say or “you must be freezing” are both greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and a look of “are you serious, it’s fine in here”. I have to confess, I even said “you’ll catch a chill if you don’t put something warmer on”. Oh dear - cold age is definitely catching up with me.

Whilst everyone else in the house is fine, I seem to be the one doubling up on fleeces and who thinks we might need a blast from the central heating or could do with the fire on is this room!! As for our conservatory, this is totally off limits for me in winter. I get cold in the main rooms. Venturing out to the conservatory is akin to starting an expedition to Antarctica, to experience the world record lows of -93 degrees; with the fear of frostbite a real concern! It does make a good spot to chill beer though.

My use of the car aircon has changed too. Previously I would always set this to cool and enjoy the cold air. Nowadays, this is turned up to 24 degrees... “Er Dad, please could you turn the aircon down?” or “is it very hot in here?” my daughter’s normal responses. As for my son, he’ll simply open a window saying “it’s like an oven in here”. To which I respond “close that window, we’ll get bufferting from the air if you have the back windows open”. “Bufferting” a term eloquently used by James May of Top Gear fame when he attempts a 'quick lap' or 'speed test' and the car becomes a little unsteady through the turbulent wind pressure. Hmm maybe this is me showing my age again in mentioning James May, I should probably be talking about a YouTuber or some other social media star these days.

Do you know what worries me...?

The older I get and the more I feel the cold, I fear something will happen soon - that I am desperate to prevent....

The vest!!!

Please no...don’t let me succumb to wearing a vest.