Temperature. Or, the concept of cold.

This post has been written by the husband, a little bit like Kamel appears every now and again over at Better in real life. Speaking of which, you should absolutely read K's mother's day post. It is just, so beautiful. This will most likely not be a regular feature, but maybe now and then we'll get to hear M's voice. 

Wind, hail, and rain do nothing to the boy. Shown here: Windproof raincoat bought in Barcelona, when it was supposed to be glorious, sunny warm and instead it started raining dogs and cats.

Amanda and I are having a lot of discussions about the temperature lately, since the arrival of our little Yulia. We have had our funny misunderstandings in the past, like me having to buy sweaters and a windproof jacket in Barcelona while visiting Amanda, but the differences in our thoughts and perceptions are very clear today. Our main discussion regarding Yulia is whether or not she should be covered by a swaddle when she is carried around in the house.

Amanda grew up in warm and sunny Mexico. Sure it can get “cold” there in the mornings and evenings, but the temperature never drops beneath 10º degrees Celsius. And sure, she spent some time in Switzerland, but the warmth of the Mexican sun never left her mind. She walks around the house on slippers and most of the time has a blanket wrapped around her. She “claims” that there are these “huge” drafts, making parts of the house colder than the rest. So it is no surprise that Amanda thinks that Yulia needs a swaddle, since she is a small baby and the house is cold. The more blankets she is covered in the better.

I, on the other hand grew up in rainy and windy Holland. Where the temperature does become negative in winter. And since Holland is a bike country, I spent plenty of time biking in the rain, snow and hail. During exam period you would spend the first 15 min of the exam getting warm and dry. I walk around the house on my socks and in a t-shirt. I don’t feel any drafts or temperature variations throughout the house.

So, according to my view, Yulia does not need a swaddle in the house when I carry her around in our house. Even during the short trip she takes naked from her room to the shower, where we install her bath.

A temperature is a numerical measure of hot and cold. Its measurement is taken by detection of heat radiation; particle velocity or kinetic energy, or, most commonly, by the bulk behavior of a thermometric material. It may be calibrated in any of various temperature scales: Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin, etc.

The temperature indication throughout our house is a cozy 20º degrees Celsius, but it is funny to see that an objective value such as temperature can be perceived so subjectively based on one’s background.

How are you influenced by your background?