Nannook of the North

Six years ago, we were in Ann Arbor helping Kim and Chuck and waiting for their first child to be born. At that time they lived in a Cape Cod style house which really had a lot of room. The main floor had an 'L' shaped living room/ dining room combination, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. Upstairs was a sitting room and another bedroom. There was also a full basement. This baby was due in early January, and we had driven up from Texas to be there before Christmas and were enjoying being together and trying to be helpful. Well, it is cold in December in Michigan, and frequently they have snow and wind and stuff like that. It was quite different from the weather in Texas.

We were staying in a bedroom on the main floor, and the bed was directly under a large window, where the air would get chilled by the window and drift down onto the bed. The room was small and therefore was not easily rearranged, so we tried to put up with the cold air falling down on our heads and neck. Finally, I got an idea of putting a blanket behind the pillows with enough remaining to be pulled over our heads like a scarf. One night Chuck came by to say good night and caught me under my head-covering blanket and said, "Goodnight, Nanook of the North." He really thought I was a bit of a wuss until one night much later HE was lying on the bed and got caught by the cold air cascading off the window and realized what had been going on when we had been there. We were glad when the baby boy joined our family, and I was glad to head back to Texas with my new nickname firmly in place.