The rule in the house where I grew up was that if it was below 50 degrees outside, you had to wear a jacket. At our house, temperatures were measured and reported on the Fahrenheit scale. There were other related rules. If it was below 20 degrees, we were required to wear a hat and mittens or gloves. When it got below 0, we had to wear a scarf or a facemark. If it was below -20, we usually got the help of our father to deliver our newspapers. Later, when I got my driver’s license, I helped my younger brothers when it was cold. I remember we were told that if it got to -40, everyone would stay inside, and our father would close his business, but I don’t remember experiencing -40. That is -40 actual temperature. We didn’t hear about wind chill until I was older. The wind always blew. Windchill temperatures were likely well below zero often.

When we lived in North Dakota when the temperature dipped below zero, people wouldn’t turn off their vehicles to run into the Post Office or grocery store; when it was -20, they would leave their cars running for the church service and the coffee hour afterward.

I don’t live in a cold place anymore. Temperatures in the 20s are considered cold, and when temperatures reached the teens a couple of winters ago, many houses in our neighborhood experienced frozen pipes. We had a frozen pipe in our garage, but I discovered the problem before it thawed. I could turn off the supply to that one pipe, which fed an outside tap and avoided a leak. I’ve since installed a valve that allows me to drain that pipe before it gets cold.

I, however, still get cold. I rarely wore long underwear for the first sixty-five or more years unless it was below zero. I wear my long johns daily, even when the highs are approaching 50 degrees. And I’m not likely to shed my jacket at 60 degrees. It depends upon who I am addressing and how I explain this. For some folks, I say it is because the humidity is so high here, and high humidity makes it feel colder. The humidity outside right now is 87%. At 26 degrees, it's laying down a good layer of frost.

Part of why I feel colder these days is that I am getting older. I’m not likely to stay inside, however, so I layer up. For years, I wore an undershirt and a dress shirt to work with a jacket or coat over that. I had plenty of sweaters. My mother was a knitter, and my mother-in-law provided gifts of rag wool sweaters at several Christmases. Somehow, however, I never got into wearing sweatshirts that much. But this year, at least for the last month, sweatshirts have become my everyday wear. I still wear a dress shirt and a tie to church. And if I have meetings, I wear a regular shirt with a collar, but most of the time, I’ve been wearing sweatshirts.

It started on New Year’s Day when I got a new sweatshirt with our annual Polar Bear Plunge logo. It was a lovely, warm thing to put on after I took a swim in the ocean. I am proud enough of that to keep mentioning it, and I enjoy others' reactions when they see it. Then, a couple of weeks later, I got a new sweatshirt with the logo of a local independent coffee shop. The shop has a customer loyalty program where customers can earn points for purchases. I ignored the program and failed to redeem my points for “free” coffee when I stopped by. Usually, you have to register for those programs, but the owner knows me, so he registered me even though I was ignoring the program. One day, he told me I had accumulated enough points for a free sweatshirt. I accepted the gift even though it is a stark testimony that I spent too much money on fancy decaf drinks and spiced tea at the shop.

I’ve been enjoying wearing sweatshirts so much that I decided to dig out the ones I’ve kept in my drawer for years. I found an almost new sweatshirt with the 1996 National Youth Event logo on it. I served on the planning team for that event, and all team members were given hooded sweatshirts. The event was held in the middle of the summer in South Carolina. I couldn’t imagine wearing the garment at the time I received it. It went into a drawer and stayed there for 29 years. It survived being moved.

That was my new sweatshirt. The other one, without a hood, was a gift from my mother. It commemorates Archbishop Desmond Tutu's visit to Montana. It was an amazing event. The Archbishop traveled 47 hours to appear in Helena, Montana. His appearance was his only stop in the United States on that trip. He came at the invitation of our friends who had been working to end apartheid and raising funds to support schools in South Africa. My mother attended the event, which was a fundraiser for the schools. She knew I wanted to attend but was unable, so she bought me a sweatshirt. I don’t know if I had worn it before this month. It appears to be brand new. The event for which it was made and sold happened in 1990. Thirty-five years is a long time to keep a sweatshirt in the bottom of a drawer.

I should check for other unused items in my drawers that need to be found in new homes. On the other hand, who knows when I’ll change my manner of dress? I might need to add another layer to keep warm in another decade. If I do, I doubt I will need to shop for more clothes. I seem to have enough on hand. I know we are experiencing global warming, but I'm prepared if we run into a cold streak.