Don't do what you want to do in this cold...stay in!

With temperatures at -19 Fahrenheit this morning and a windchill at -33 F, it was downright painful to walk across the parking lot this morning. Over 15 inches of snow fell in our area over the past 2 days making driving difficult. My wife and kids kept wanting to use the day off of school and work to do "normal" winter activities, like go sledding, shopping, skiing, or go out for dinner, but I had to remind them and myself that the schools, banks, state government and my office were all closed for a reason...it was dangerous outside!
I plowed my driveway 3 times and when the temperatures dropped below zero, my hands turned red, swelled up and hurt that last time. I thought about doing more of the sidewalk or back porch, but thought better of it and went inside to warm up. My wife did go out to the grocery store the day before and stocked up on basics like bread and milk and eggs, so we had plenty of food. She wanted to do some shopping, but I told her that just because the driveway was clean didn't mean our street was and all the side roads were still pretty icy. Tow trucks were pretty busy, so if you needed one, you better be prepared to wait. The kids wanted to sled, but we chose to watch movies and eat popcorn instead. After being outside a couple of times, even the dogs knew being inside was the way to go. They just would not go out after a while. Funny how animal instincts are more dependable than people's.
Don't follow your instincts to go out, stay in and stay warm.