so... tired... of ... being... cold

Tonight, I had worked my shift as a volunteer usher at the Lucas. I was supposed to have worked there last night, too, but the below freezing temperatures and icy streets had scared me off. I felt the need to honor my commitment tonight, the only other night I was scheduled this month.
The night air was already in the mid-30's when I arrived, but I fortunately found a nearby parking place - and it was even free of slush and ice.
Moreover, my path to the theatre was free of slush and ice, too.
i thank You, God.
While there, I was able to visit with Carolyn and San, both volunteering like me. Joe and Lois came by, too. That was heart-warming, even if the weather was not.

The movie was "Metropolis",
a 1927 science fiction silent film.
Admonishing the human race
to keep community compassion (heart)
in between intellectual technology (head)
and the working people (hands),
the movie lasted 2 1/2 hours.

That meant the temperature
was brutally cold
by the time the film was done.
I practically held my breath
while almost running
the short distance to my car.
Then, I had to sit there
and try to catch my breath
so I could drive.


I cried all the way home, I was so cold.

I knew home was going to seem warmer, but that sensation would lessen soon.
I have been keeping my thermostat around 65 since returning from Myrtle Beach on Friday. That means I'm not warm at home and have had to stay bundled up all the time, drinking hot tea and eating soup for breakfast, soup for lunch, soup for dinner.
The only time I am warm is when I waken in the morning, after being in the delectable warmth of my bed and its heated mattress pad.
Why haven't I kept the thermostat on a more user-friendly setting?
Because my last gas bill was $115.
I am terrified of how high my next bill might be, after Winter Storm Grayson is finally done stroking its long icy fingers along my coastal town. The storm is a bomb cyclone, which seems to be very similar to a hurricane (tropical cyclone), except it develops over land at extratropical latitudes.
All I know for sure is this: I am so tired of being cold.
Now, I'm going to drink some hot tea and turn on my mattress pad and hope for better temperatures tomorrow.