A week ago, I ran errands around town in 50 weather. It was warm enough that I didn't need a sweater. It was unbelievably warm for a December day. Then Monday arrived. If you had to go out, you know that it was freezing outside at 20.

Of course, all of my winter coats were in the car. After walking quickly to the car, I turned it on and took off. Figuring after being outside, the inside of the car, out of the wind didn't feel too terrible. Not to mention I'd have to put my coat on in the car or stand out in the wind to put it on, and the coat was probably colder than I was. So, I continued and ran my errands.

Typically, I just grit my teeth, run my errands and return home. I wanted something to warm me up. I tossed around getting some coffee. While I love the smell of the beverage, I'm not a fan of drinking it. If I DO drink it, it's half milk and sugar. So, the next choice was hot chocolate. In a former life, I would have bought the packets at the store and returned home. This time I thought, "I'm cold, my hands are cold, I'm going to splurge on a cup of hot chocolate."

Of course, just like a cup of coffee, it was too hot to drink, but I wrapped my hands around the cup while shivering. I took a tiny sip, but what I wanted was a large gulp to start thawing me out. I pulled away from the drive up, ran my errands, took my pictures and after about 3 tiny sips I was home again. I grabbed my camera, and a few other things that needed to come into the house and ran into the warm house.

I did think to grab one of my coats out of the backseat knowing that I had to face this nasty cold again. I came in, grabbed my remote and turned on my fake fireplace, grabbed my warm socks, my warmer clothes, a sweater, and settled in to warm up again.

Then I realized that I forgot my hot chocolate in the car.

I debated. Should I reverse everything for a cup of hot chocolate or find something else warm to drink? Then I wondered, "will it freeze between now and when I leave again in a couple of hours. If it freezes, will it expand enough to make a mess?" I decide that there isn't enough liquid to make a mess. That thinking might have been a result of brain freeze from the wind.

As I returned to the car later that afternoon, I saw that my gamble was a good one, this time. The now cold/frozen hot chocolate was only frozen around the outside but still had a little liquid in the middle, but it wasn't close to overflowing, so I was good to go, and the cup could wait.

So go I did.

As I pulled away, I wondered how many thoughts were put into that cup of hot but now frozen chocolate. The purchase was an impulse, so there wasn't much thought there. However, I worried more about that single cup of hot chocolate than I should have. Would it freeze? If it did, would it overflow? If it did, how much of a mess would it make? But most importantly that day, did I want to freeze my tail feathers off just to retrieve the hot chocolate? Ultimately that was the question that answered all the rest. The simple answer of, "No!" That no caused way more mental discussion than it was worth.

Then I thought that simple, "no" often causes more mental strain than it really should in other topics. Just being able to say no, for me, is a good thing. But mentally exhausting. So anyway...

Lessons learned:

Don't impulse buy. It's too much hassle.

Yes, your hot chocolate will freeze.

If you do buy hot chocolate, grab it and not the coat. The next week you will wear the coat to the car, but then leave it in there again because either it got too hot, or it was just a hassle when driving so you took it off. Either way, you'll find yourself running to the car in the cold, hopping inside, and wishing for a cup of hot chocolate...



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