PANDEMIC DIARY

THE BI-ANNUAL SWITCHEROO

September 24, 2020

Its that time of year again. Its the time of year when you wonder if it is yet that time of year. Wondering, as in a stalling tactic. You wonder because wondering is less painful that doing the “switcheroo”. You think, “I’ll wait”, and then a few days pass and the morning temperature goes from sixty-two degrees down to forty-seven degrees and you say to yourself, “I should have done the switcheroo sooner.” What yo are left with is having to hunt for a single piece of clothing that will get you through the day without knowing where you stored it at the end of the last season.

There is no exact time to do the switcheroo. Particularly, for us in North Carolina when the weather is so variable due to the competing influences of moist, warm, tropical elements and the colder, dryer forces of polar air masses. So we stand…and ponder…and eventually get it wrong. Inevitably, doing the switcheroo either too soon or too late.

Have you ever stood in your closet, looked at your clothes and said to no one in particular, “Nah. Not yet”, then walk away thinking, “Aw, shit. I really should get this done”. Its not so much that you don’t like doing the ‘switcheroo’. Its more about what the switcheroo represents. And, this time of year it can only mean one thing. Winter is rapidly approaching. And, that sucks.

Of course, under current conditions of Coronavirus, the question arises “does it really matter”, particularly in this year of ‘stay at home’ and quarantine. I have hardly worn anything other than my shorts and tee shirts or sawed-off muscle shirts. I am doing so much nothing I don’t even shower daily. I am not going anyplace.. Why go through all this trouble?

Here are some of the exchanges which must take place:
— My Panama Hats made of Ecuadorian straw will get exchanged for a Beaver Fur Fedora.

— My glen-plaid cotton pajamas will be exchanged for scotch-plaid flannel pajamas.
— My shorts will be put away and my sweatpants will come out.
— My tongs will give way to my fleece-lined slippers.
— My short-sleeve tees will be replaced by long-sleeve tees.
— My open-toed sandals become actual shoes.
— And, my turtlenecks go on the shelf.

This past weeks', as morning as temperatures dropped into the high forties and low fifties, we finally got to use our two new patio heaters. They were purchased to extend the outdoor season.

I really am experiencing cabin fever. I am anticipating for these feelings to worsen and grow because of the cold and inclement weather ahead. So, even before I do this Fall’s switcheroo, I am already thinking of the time when early next year the weather will invite me to consider if its time to do the Spring switcheroo.