Blowin’ the Stink Off
“They still need to blow the stink off,” one of my daughter’s daycare providers would say when a cold spell settled in. No matter how cold it was, she bundled up the kids and sent them outside. A few minutes later, they came in the house red-cheeked and better humored than when they remained cooped up indoors.
Her words came back to me during our recent cold snap. After four days trapped inside by temperatures as low as 30 below, her wisdom made more sense by the hour. And this morning, when the temperature warmed to a balmy 19 degrees above zero, I decided to take her advice and blow some stink off.
As I trudged up the formidable hill on our gravel road, a voice called behind me. “Good morning, Jolene.” My neighbor jogged by, not breathing hard, and added, “Isn’t it nice to be outside?” He kept moving while we exchanged pleasantries.
Agog, I watched him crest the hill and disappear. A disturbing thought assaulted me. He had been downwind and downhill when we met. Was my neighbor so fit and trim that the steep grade didn’t wind him, or did he have to hold his breath when downwind of me? After four days indoors, it was possible.
A few minutes later, the wind came up. I welcomed the stiffening wind and ground blizzards swirling in the fields. With my considerable amount of stink to blow off, every gust helps.
