My coldest day in Buenos Aires

I would have made fun of me too just a couple months ago but I assure you, I am not just being a baby. Today was cold, windy and unexpected. Today, I believe, is as cold as it gets. In Chicago, this kind of cold is the sign of a very bad winter ahead. So, for me, I am trained to be a bit nervous. I am extremely relieved to know that this is not getting any worse. Thankfully, everyone here is only terrified of about a month of this nightmare. A month.

I am only a tad scared of not having enough clothes to get through this torturous time. I am daydreaming constantly of my gorgeous array of winter clothes that is living inside boxes in my sister’s attic. Being from Chicago, winter/fall clothes is usually the majority of a persons wardrobe. I never missed my winter clothes so much as I do now.

The reason, I think that I am fantasizing so much about my clothes is that they are of fantastic quality. It isn’t because I shop at fancy places; in fact, most of my best sweaters are from second hand stores. It is the cozy, high quality fabric that I miss. Thick cotton or wool is not common here nor is it cheap. Supply and demand.

I know that I will make it through. I have survived winters, in which, I actually hid once behind a dumpster in an alley, it was so cold. Long story, but I was canvassing door to door for a political campaign. That was over 10 years ago.

The last winter that I lived in Chicago, I woke up at 4:30am, before the snow trucks or people came. I put on long underwear, wool socks, a shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, hat, scarf and snow pants before I left the house. I then walked 3 blocks through a foot of snow to a bus that, hopefully, was coming. It was below freezing, many times.

During those cold mornings, while walking in anguish, I would drift into thoughts of Buenos Aires, a new city and the new life that I would be creating.

Today, the coldest day, in Buenos Aires, I take a look at what this journey has brought me so far and although chilly on the outside, I am warmer than I have ever been before.