The ice woman cometh

Its days like these I miss being pregnant.

Pick your jaws up off the floor. I don’t miss the bloating, gas, heartburn, back discomfort or the myriad of other medical maladies that went along with being pregnant. What I do miss is having a normal body temperature. The only time I can recall ever feeling warm is when I was pregnant.

On a normal day when the people of NY are roaming the streets in shorts and t-shirts, you’ll find me dressed in long sleeves and stockings. So, when the temperatures drop, and by that I mean anything below 70 degrees, this girl is a miserable mess.

You have to understand how cold I actually get. I am the girl who moves the heat up to 80 degrees in order to be able to sleep comfortably. (Yup, I am single handedly destroying the environment, based on the articles I have read, by not leaving my home at 62 degrees.) I wear layers of clothes and socks to bed even with the heat on that high. I snuggle up to my husband just to steal some of his warmth. He knows it too, and mocks me for it.

I have tried to determine what causes me to be this cold and there is no medical explanation. Even when I add iron to my diet or exercise to improve circulation I remain as cold as ice. So, I get stares from people as I walked the streets in a jacket -- in July. I am the reason my parents and in laws never leave the air conditioning on when we visit. I own and use more blankets then should be legally allowed.

So, today, shivering, while braving the brisk winds as I ran an errand, for a fleeting moment I thought, “Gee, I wish I was pregnant again.” Apparently, the rational part of my brain needs to be defrosted now too.