I
cannot get excited about anything that happens in air that's below 69 degrees. 70 is barely tolerable. Winter is something I suffer, and if I had the means to fly South, you can bet Moses' sandals I would. So when we had the annual neighborhood Halloween cul-de-sac party on Sunday, right in front of my house, I put on fur boots, pulled the drawstring on my hoodie as tight as I could, and took a carton of Publix fried chicken out there where they'd set up card tables full of Rice Krispy Treats and frank-n-beans.
I did a quick cul-de-loop of hello's and said, "See you guys in March," before I headed back inside to watch more SVU. I did not stop to exclaim over little Suzy's Jasmine costume or to scold the teen I saw stealing beer from the cooler. Suzy was gonna be just as cute without my saying so, and that older kid would still turn out to be a sociopath just like his father.
Lola, who I'd swear was not my daughter if I had not witnessed her birth myself, isn't bothered by the cold. This can probably be explained by tracing her lineage back to the Caledonians, whom the Roman historian Tacitus deemed red-headed and large-limbed. No doubt, they also liked candy. And they trick-or-treated barefoot in the snow. She had two costumes this year, a revival of 2011's morph suit for the party and the mail-ordered zombie lenses that were delivered just. in. time. on Tuesday.
Last night, I got home around 9 pm. I had a late appointment at The Conley Center, after which I stopped at Publix to get Lola waffles and ice cream. Lo met me at the door, super excited. She'd spent
two hours, she said, organizing (what was left of) her loot from Wednesday night. She had weighed and counted it, and separated it by kind and color. Meanwhile, I was thinking, the kitchen is splattered with Gordita sauce, her bedroom looks like an episode of Hoarders, and the dogs haven't been out to pee since sundown. She ushered me into Georgia's old room, which is now the 'room we stick stuff in' and warned me not
to dare let anyone or anything else in.
I don't think I've ever seen her look so proud.
