preparedness

I love fall.  Autumn.  Fall sounds dangerous.  Autumn sounds beautiful.

But it means winter is coming, I know I have about 33 days before I start to get really wrackittey.  What does that mean?  I don't know.  But it's the only word that I can think of that describes how I feel in November and December.  Between Halloween and Christmas.  I'm usually pretty okay until January 2nd or 3rd.  I resolve each year to go into winter with a Good Attitude.  But it lasts about a day or two until I am convinced that the world will never warm up and I will have to live a Siberian Existence forever and ever.

But this year will be different.  This year I will have a Real Winter Coat.  Not like those fake ones I've had before.
That gorgeous red tweed one that my grandmother loved more than anything near the end of her life.  That I threw out because I wore it through pregnancy and beyond and it sort of made me look like I was in some sort of pregnant or beyond state and I only kept it last year because my grandmother loved it so much and she died in October and I felt like if I was throwing away something of mine that she loved, it was like throwing her away.
The liner was shredded.  And the tweed was starting to twiddle.  The buttons were starting to buckle.  It was the best $89 ever spent at H&M.  I wish they would bring it back.  I'll check again this year, just like I do every year.
That navy blue sleeping bag thing I bought at Burlington on a day that started out at 70 and landed at 30.  I needed something warm and under $100.  The tag said Michael Kors but you can never be too sure at Burlington.  It held up for about six months.  I had it for three years.  The second year I supplemented with a North Face vest.  Last year I kept the vest (totally worth the dollars, if you are a coldie like me because you  never have to take it off because it doesn't restrict movement.  I sleep in mine sometimes.) and added another NF layer.  A Redpoint Jacket.  Do I love North Face?  Not particularly, but I love that jacket.  And these mittens.  It looks springish and light, but it has some real heft.  They update it (read: increase the price and cuteness) every year, and mine was under $100 and not nearly as adorable as they are now.  I need a winter coat anytime the temps drop below 65, and this allows me to look like a sane person and keep warm all at the same time.

One of the things that I have taught Jacob is to avoid people who wear winter coats in the summer, despite my affection for winter coats outside of winter days.  And also to avoid people with no coats in the winter.  And bare feet in the city.  And snots on their face/puke in their beards.  And ladies with no bras.  And men with no shirt away from the beach or home.  And people who talk to themselves and aren't wearing a Bluetooth.  And people who wear Blueteeth when they aren't using them.  Bluetooths.  Those douchey things in their ears.
I think I have most avoidances covered.

Also important to note, I bought a Redpoint for Dave too, who is always hot and needed something lighter for days when it is super cold outside.  I love mine in October and November and March and April, he loves his in December and January and February.  Everyone wins.  They should be paying me to tell you this.

This year winter will be different because I have a real wintercoat that doesn't need to be supplemented by any other number of wintercoats.  And it was on major sale.  With free shipping.  From Land's End.  Which you can also buy at Sears.  And any time you buy something that is available at Sears, you are making a very Grown Up and Responsible Purchase.

I bought it in Autumn Brick.

I love autumn.