Blanket Probelm
Confession: I love blankets. Now I know what you’re thinking: who doesn’t like blankets? Okay, so there are some people out there who don’t care for blankets, my husband could take them or leave them, but I’m pretty sure most people lean more in favor of the blanket than not. I happen to be leaning so far in favor I’m actually sideways. It’s actually a problem how much I like blankets. It’s practically an addiction. But, they say the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here it is. I have a blanket problem.
It started out totally reasonable, I swear. I went to high school in a brand-new, computer-filled building which they felt the need to keep rather chilly at all times. My school was also not built to be an actual school. It was a preforming arts school that didn’t have the capacity to accommodate all the students it attracted and their majors. So, they spread out, throwing classes in the gym building, the building across the street, the near-by church sometimes and the library. Guess where the writers went? Library basement. The library was an old building with not so much in the way of heating for the lower level. We got space heaters. In winter it was not uncommon to leave your coat on in class.
I’m not sure who started bringing a blanket to class first, but the idea caught on fast. Several of us whipped out a blanket when we got to the library. I was among them, but as I was too lazy to carry the blanket around, I just wore it all the time. At first it was my blue horse blanket I made in like 3rd grade or something. Then I got my purple blanket and thus it’s been ever since. I wore it all winter and then when spring came they turned the AC back on high in the main building and I needed it for class there, so it stayed.
That was the beginning of my blanket problem. I like to be warm and it has led to this: I am known for my blanket. I take it with me everywhere, sometimes even in the summer. But, I mean, with all these places that insist on cooling their buildings in the summer to chilly temperatures, wouldn’t you want to have a blanket to wrap up in if you were going somewhere cold? Especially the movies. Seriously, who can resist snuggling up in a blanket while watching a movie?
First hike of the year and guess what I brought?
It gets a little weird, though, in the spring when it’s a choice between bringing a jacket or grabbing the blanket. I mean, if you go out camping and it might get chilly, isn’t it easier to wrap and unwrap a blanket while sitting by the fire than to put a jacket on and take it off again if you get too warm? It’s such a hassle with all the arms and everything. However, it also looks a little weird when you go hiking around the woods in a blanket. My husband questions my sanity when I do things like this. He also runs much warmer than I do so when he’s comfortable I’m usually chilly at least. Then again, there are also times when I’m not cold and still covered in a blanket. We got back from our run on Tuesday and I was so warm and sweaty from the work out, yet there I was, covered in my blanket as I waited for my husband to get out of the shower. Crazy? Yes. Apparently I’m like that. I just really like blankets, okay?
The best part is, few people realize it’s a blanket. I’ve never had anyone yet come up to me and complement my blanket. I’ve gotten shawl, wrap, poncho, and purple before, but never blanket. I think purple is my favorite. For those who might suspect, aren’t entirely sure what it is, but like it enough to complement it anyway. It makes me smile. Cape is my second favorite. A friend of ours from college wanted to call me the Mysterious Ne’er-do-well because of my ‘cape.’ I like the people who think of my blanket as a cape. I feel it shows a childish spirit that I find in many of my good friends.
The blankets are spreading, though, beyond my travel blanket. I have three more purple blankets, though technically one is an afghan, and several non-purple blankets besides, but they are all very important. I have a purple blanket for sleeping when the comforter isn’t warm enough; I have a purple blanket for my chair, which is big and very soft and fuzzy; and I have the purple afghan my mom-in-law made us for a wedding present. It is my couch blanket.
You know, when you really look at it, my collection of blankets isn’t that big. I don’t have more blankets than my in-laws at least… yet. My mom-in-law and I share a mutual love of blankets, which is probably a bad influence for both of us. It is so much easier to say yes to a blanket when you have someone else there saying, “Well, you know, you really can never have too many blankets.”
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