he doesn't seem to mind the cold
It was kind of cold today—cold enough that the school kids had to stay inside all day. Most of my first-graders were glad about it too, having complained bitterly when they came in in the morning. And, while I personally think it should have been a fine day to be outside, I admit to feeling a little bit of a chill on my ride home. So I was surprised, coming into the house, to see Harvey playing happily in just his undies. It's not like the house was particularly warm either: not only was the heat off, but the side door—where Rascal is constantly in and out—wasn't closed all the way, so it probably wasn't much more than 55°. I think that reading Little House in the Big Woods and hearing about those bitter Wisconsin winters has given him a good sense of perspective about what real cold is like.
I did make him put on PJs before he went to bed, and he's also piled under two fleece blankets and two comforters. It's going to be a cold cold night, but that doesn't mean we're going to turn the heat up. If you want to raise kids who don't mind the cold, you can't coddle em! Nope, when it gets chilly we put on another blanket, just like Laura and Mary. We do let Harvey go outside in the winter, though—it doesn't do to follow literary examples too closely. After all, he needs to put that great cold-tolerance to good use.