Cold nights and warm days.

Last night, Silena, Stephen and I got home from a brief shopping encounter at Old Navy (where I bought a very cute blue pea coat for $18…) to an apartment that smelled like Lampy from the Brave Little Toaster when he got fried (AKA- electrical burning of some sort). And after asserting that this smell was definitely emerging from the basement, more specifically, our furnace that was failing to turn on, we flipped it off and called the landlords who informed us that the professional couldn’t look at it until morning.Okay, fine. Understandable. But, as some of you may know, there are few things in this world that make me more agitated than trying to fall asleep in freezing temperatures. Hands down my least favorite thing about my parent’s house is that I have the coldest room in the house, below the attic and above the garage. It’s a pain to fall asleep in such temperatures. So, last night, as I woke up every hour to try and figure out a way to make myself as snuggled and small as possible, my sleep was less than ideal. And Stephen informed me this morning when he looked at the thermostat that the apartment was hovering somewhere around 47 degrees. And since our room kind of sticks out from the house a bit, I’ll call it an even 45 in my room. FORTY FIVE, people. Ugh. I was not a happy camper this morning. And dealing with being the communicator between landlord and roommates. Ugh. I struggled today.

Luckily, the library was kind enough to offer treats, seats and a new wide screen TV to all those who wanted to watch the inauguration and I took this as an open invitation to ditch work and watch the swearing in of our 44th President. And I felt warm. I felt restored and renewed with hope and all around good-feelingness. Yes, that’s cheesy, and yes, that’s cliche, but it’s true. I have high hopes for the next four years. I don’t rest them all on this president, but moreso on this country to pull itself together across boundaries that separate us. They may be based on race, or religion, or political affiliation, but the reality that they are harmful cannot be ignored. I am going to embrace this new time and embrace this new period in American history. Because “Yes We Did.”