Blue purloined blanket and plaid purchased blanket.
With the bitter cold weather, I am thinking about my Dad and one of his lessons to me.
Always keep a blanket in the car during the winter months, especially when driving long distances. His insistence about blankets used to drive me crazy.
My parents would come to Kansas to visit and not understand the Kansas winter mentality. Many people here do not wear winter coats most of the time. Since we have a ‘drive up to where you are going attitude’ in the suburbs. We really do not walk around that much. We get into our cars and drive to where we are going, then run in. So why wear a winter coat? A sweater is more than enough. I admit when I was younger, I would do the same thing. But I always kept my children bundled up.
This attitude sometimes backfires on our children. My god son went from the Kansas City area to Madison, Wisconsin, for college. His mom suggested that he take long sleeve shirts and a winter coat up to college with him, his freshman year. No, he did not want any of that. Then came Thanksgiving break. His main request was a hat with ear flaps. He was so cold walking across campus. Winter coat, gloves, scarf and long sleeve shirts returned with him to Madison.
My daughter went to college in New Jersey. She also was impacted by winter in this unexpected manner. Walking across campuses really is different than Kansas ‘run in and run out.’ Her request that first winter was a coat that covered her tush. I quickly agreed to that request.
But back to my Dad. When my family was young, we often drove to and from St. Louis in the winter months. My husband’s family lived there. It made my parents nervous. So they purchased a plaid blanket for my car in case the car broke down. Having a blanket in the car was their idea of safety against the cold of winter.
He also purchased a car emergency kit for me that had a first kit, jumper cables and a flash light. Even though that kit is long gone, I have made sure we always had one in every car. That makes sense to me. So I never argued about that.
It was the blankets in the car that really drove him crazy. He wanted me to have a blanket for each person in the car. What would happen if we were stuck? We needed a way to keep warm. His passion became stronger after the time my husband, children and I got stuck in a snow storm on the way back from St. Louis. But we spent the night in Columbia…at a hotel… I told him. It did not matter. He was now truly concerned. I needed blankets, now!
Dad did buy me another blanket. But I have to admit, even though he was an honorable, kind and gentle man, my Dad had one flaw that I hesitate to tell you about. But I will. He was a bit of a goniff, a thief! He stole the blue blankets from airlines. Do you remember them? We used to get one each time we flew…not any more. But years ago, they always had a blanket and pillow on every seat. (His favorite airline blanket….Continental. The airline no longer exists, except for the many blue blankets in my life.)
Dad would not use his. He would bring in to my house still wrapped in its plastic bag. It made me crazy. When he flew to visit in the winter time, he often would come off the plane with a blanket. When he got to my house, he would pull it out of his carryon bag and quietly place it in my car. I soon had a collection of blue blankets. During the winter, I kept a canvas bag filled with blankets in my car in case of emergency. Some purchased, some purloined.
We had disagreement after disagreement as the blue blankets continued to enter my home. Finally my Mom had enough. “Don’t tell him not to bring you the blankets. The more you complain, the more he does it,” Mom demanded. She was right, once I stopped yelling at him and arguing, he stopped taking the blankets off the planes.
Dad passed away in 2011. I no longer worry about the blankets in the car. Or so I thought.
My son’s girlfriend lives over an hour away. They drive back and forth every weekend. One coming here, or one going there. It is so cold today and she has to drive home, so I asked, “Do you have a blanket in your car?” The answer, “NO.”
Oy, I feel my Dad’s spirit rising up in me!
The plaid blanket my Dad purchased for me over 30 years ago is going into my son’s girlfriend’s car. My son will get the canvas bag filled with purloined blankets. When it is this cold, you do need a blanket in your car for long distance travel!
As we enter the new year, I realized more and more that we do become our parents. My sister also has our Dad’s safety gene. She gave me a Vera Bradley blanket that folds into a pillow for Hanukkah. It is my new car blanket.
Wishing everyone a safe, warm, and happy memory filled year!
zicharonot 