I HATE the winter. The cold weather sucks, mostly because I hate wearing a jacket. Up through high school I wore one as much as my mom forced me, but once I moved out on my own, my jacket stayed nice and cozy in my closet year-round barring basically sub-zero temperatures. The added layer of clothing makes it difficult to drive my chair, and if I’m on my own, which is a lot of the time, it’s a hassle finding someone to take it on and off. There have been times I’ve been so cold I couldn’t even speak, but you still couldn’t convince me to put a coat on.

It wasn’t until last winter that I came up with a way to disable my limits. I joined the ranks of Superman and Batman with what I like to call my custom “cape.” Let me tell you the three reasons why I love my cape:

  • It is warm as an oven. It’s made of merino wool and lined with a flannel material. More importantly it covers my hands. There’s nothing worse than driving my chair when my hands are numb. And it covers my lap like a blanket, too, so it’s almost like an extension of my bed which makes the transition from bed to work a little easier on those frigid winter mornings.
  • Second, it’s easy to take on and off. It opens up with a single zipper down the front, which makes it less of a hassle for someone to take it off or put it on. With a coat, a lot of people are nervous they’re going to hurt me, even though I’m not that fragile.
  • Lastly, it has swag, but of course it does; it’s a cape. It’s black and gray so it goes with whatever, and it has a hood that actually fits my head. Typically I wear children’s small-sized clothing, and this basketball sitting on my neck doesn’t fit in those hoods. Shout out to my tailor for considering my odd dimensions.

So until I can jet-set for the winters, I’ll disable the cold in style in my cape.