I was freezing my balls off. Few places felt as cold as an island off the northwestern coast of Norway in February. The mercury in the thermometer on the porch had contracted until it hovered around -24C, or -10F or so - cold by anybody's standards!
Now, normally when it was this cold, the air was completely still - but now the weather was changing, and we had the iciest of cold drafts making the outdoors quite unpleasant for a day or two until the temperature started increasing courtesy of the warmer air being blown in from the Atlantic. Well, 'less cold air' was probably more accurate than 'warmer air'. Everything, as they say, is relative.
Yet, that didn't stop my son from deciding that going out to play was an excellent idea, and I - knowing all too well that if he didn't get a good outing, he'd be brimming with energy which would need to be dissipated somehow - by climbing the walls indoors, if need be - come bedtime.
Hence, we had dressed up for the occasion and were on our way to the playground. Did I mention it was -10F and windy?
Oh well. Once you'd dressed up (and, once bitten, twice shy, having cajoled junior into peeing before donning layer upon layer of clothing, to avoid having to undress him again in fifteen minutes to go pee!), it wasn't too bad.
In addition to ourselves we'd brought a thermos flask filled with steaming hot chocolate, so after having basked in the snow for a while, we could warm up a little before playing some more. This was going to be a good day, despite the cold. Hell, perhaps even because of it - it did feel quite like an expedition, dressing up like this, bringing supplies (if only in the form of some cocoa, biscuits and a small bag of marshmallows, which Thomas for some reason or other insisted on dipping into his cocoa before eating them with delight.)
It was a little before ten o'clock, and the sun hovered just over the mountains sheltering us from the prevailing easterly winds, making us squint as we made our way through the winter wonderland we called home.
Being a Saturday, it was quiet outdoors, nary a soul to be seen at this early-ish hour - but we expected to find a couple of other families at the playground; Thomas hoped he'd find his best friend from kindergarten there, whereas I... Well, as long as I found a fellow adult to chat with while the kids played, I'd be happy.
Happy? Nah, make that very happy. Just as we strolled past our neighbours, me pulling Thomas along on a little sled, him proudly ensuring the small rucksack with the hot chocolate, marshmallows, our mugs and some biscuits was kept firmly under control, we heard a knock on a window; as we glanced at the house, we were greeted by Ella, smiling broadly as she waved at us from the kitchen window, then motioning for us to wait a second.
OK, could do. Seconds later, the door creaked open and out stepped Ella, a down jacket slung over her shoulders. "Aw, is it cold!" was her first greeting, before she turned to Thomas. "So, you taking dad out to play, are you? Mind if I come along after a little while?" Vigorous shaking of the head. Apparently, he'd be OK with having his favourite babysitter around. Quelle surprise.
Ella's glance darted to me. "So, where are you heading? Kindergarten? I just need to do the last dishes and, uh, dress up, then I'd love to join you..."
I smiled and nodded. "Kindergarten it is. You read us like an open book. Oh, by the way, we've prepared some hot chocolate, so if you bring a mug..."
Ella giggled. "That's a date, then!" and waved us on. "See you in fifteen minutes, guys!"
Thomas, already in a great mood, went positively over the moon at the prospects of basking in the snow with Ella, who, much unlike me, was able to shed any and all pretense of being an adult and just play with him on his own terms, like the biggest four-year-old you'd ever seen.
We made it to the playground, and as I had expected, there were others already there, so Thomas ran off to play with friends while I joined the parents huddling against the cold in a corner of the playground. Nods and smiles, I knew most of them, a few very well - among the latter Terje, a former colleague and current friend, which meant that one of the colourfully dressed kids running around us would be Heidi, Thomas' on-and-off best friend in kindergarten. Good.
As always - heck, we liked to poke fun at the British for being obsessed with the weather, but we were just as bad ourselves - the banter was about the cold and whether it would ease up anytime soon. Luckily Terje and I soon found something else to talk about, as he had just become the proud owner of a 36-foot sailboat which was currently drydocked in a heated tent at his employer, where he spent most evenings getting it ready for the summer - they intended to go on a small cruise down the coast towards Bergen and perhaps even Sørlandet if the kids (or his partner, for that matter!) turned out to have the patience for it.
Just as Terje had started on explaining how the kerosene cabin heater had so far frustrated all his efforts at getting it going - much to his surprise, as it was of a dead simple construction and there really wasn't much to get wrong - a slightly larger, colourfully clad teletubby lookalike showed up. Ella. All grins, dressed in thermal coveralls, the only suitable garment for the occasion. "Hi there," she greeted us adults. "Mind if I play with your kids a little? I promised Thomas I'd join him and Erling over here, so..."
Good-natured laughter all around. Ella was widely known for her love of children. "Knock yourself out," Terje suggested. "Eventually, we'll feel so bad for you doing all the running around and playing, we might even join in ourselves, too!"
She was off with a holler, immediately getting Thomas' attention.
It appeared Thomas had taken Ella's arrival as his cue for demanding we sip a little hot chocolate, and I didn't need much persuading when he immediately after greeting her led her back to me and the thermos.
"Ella and I want hot chocolate, papa. Ella said I could have her marshmallows, please."
