I usually do my food shopping on Monday mornings. It’s become part routine, part ritual. I head to my car and drive to the underground parking garage at the local Trader Joe’s. I sip coffee on the drive and hope it will still be warm by the time I get back to my car. At the store, I purchase enough food to get our family through the week, hoping we won’t run out of milk before the week is up. But this particular Monday trip to the grocery store taught me a lesson or two, and it came in the most unexpected way.

This particular January morning was a balmy 55 degrees — I’m talking T-shirt weather in the northeast. At this time of year, you’d expect to be bundled up to your neck and maybe in thermals under your jeans.