Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

Have Fan, Will Sleep

Posted Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 9:58 PM

I’ve had an exasperating night due to perceived temperature fluctuations. A peek at Mother Nature’s thermometer would reveal a steady above-freezing record. The thermostat inside didn’t show much change, either.

My physical reaction to the damp cool weather, however, was all over the place. For the record, we are a month and a half away from the spring equinox (March 19), so I’m still wearing my cozy fleecy pajamas and fuzzy socks. At lights out that seemed sufficient, so I folded the heavy blanket and tossed it to the foot of the bed. My feline footwarmer settled in for his night’s nap on a nearby rocker.

Not two hours later, I was kicking that blanket onto the floor, yanking off fuzzy socks and traipsing to the kitchen for a peek at the thermostat while guzzling a glass of ice water. The furnace had not mysteriously kicked on. The indoor temp had dropped only one degree. To chase away the tropical feel, I cracked a nearby window ever so slightly and waited for sleep to return. Scooter’s eyes watched me galavanting around, but he didn’t move.

Spring forward (oh, THAT clock nonsense will happen March 10) a couple hours and I was awake freezing! It took a millisecond to shut the window but much longer to find where my socks had landed and pull the blanket back up on the bed. For good measure, before I tucked in my ice-cold limbs, I nudged the thermostat to make the heat kick on for just a degree or two and switched on the fake fireplace. Scooter raised his head to watch the developments but remained on his comfy cushion.

I awoke again just before alarm time. Scooter was stretched out on the front window sill up against the cool glass. It was a bit warm. I will wait on digging out lighter pj’s and putting away the heavy blanket, though, until Punxsutawney Phil makes his winter/spring forecast on February 2 with much fanfare. That reminds me. My bedside mini-fan finally quit. I’ll replace it pronto so nights like this one won’t happen often. It doesn’t regulate anything but my sleep, the best temp equalizer of all.