Growing up in the northern United States, I hated winter. Other kids were excited. I gave it a good try. I really did. I would go out and play. I had all the gear. The thick snow pants that had buckle overall straps, thick winter coat, face mask, multiple pairs of gloves, and boots. I wouldn’t be out there for too long before I was just over it. The only benefit was when school was canceled because of it. As I got older, my list of dislikes for winter grew longer. I hated that as you got older, school started earlier. Elementary was 9ish, middle was 8ish and high school was 7ish. As a kid, you typically bathe at night. As you get older, you shower in the morning. Getting up at 6 to shower, then heading out into the cold, your hair literally turned to ice. I liked the big baggy pants. Like big big. From Gadzooks or Hot Topic. The bottoms would get wet and crunchy. Stiffened from the salt of the walkways. Then repeat after school. The chill to the bone feeling, it taking hours to warm up again. Then, once you start driving, you have to deal with thawing your car out and scraping the windows. If you lived in a house as an adult, you now had to shovel. 

Besides the sheer cold, there was a quick brisk fall that took all the color away. Once the snow started falling, the streets would look so dirty. As snow melted you would see trash that was thrown while there was still snow. Snow was pretty when it first fell, but cars and mud quickly mixed with it and made it ugly. Everything was gray and dead. People were irritable due to the cold and car troubles correlating with the cold weather and/or snow. I would get seasonal depression starting in September as it all came to pass. 

For this reason, Spring was my favorite time of year. It was the warming of the weather. The cheerful moods of the people. The promise of several months of sunshine and feel good vibes. Color slowly filled the scenery. Grass turning green, landscaping being done. Roads being cleaned up. Baby animals being born. And eventually the smell of fresh cut grass. I felt like my soul was awakening. I lived that way for nearly 3 decades before we moved down south. 

I still like Spring for what it is. That is when we get one. There has been a few years out of the 13 we have lived here it just got super hot the beginning of April and did not let up. After living in the south though my view has changed. I don’t know when exactly. I can’t pinpoint the year.  I now feel fall is my favorite season. It is the cooling off after a hot summer. The heat gets pretty unbearable here. I considered moving the summer before last. I had a few hot flashes and thought I may just melt away and die here. It became hard to breathe. I deeply considered going to the gas station and standing in the walk in beer cooler. Fall is now the promise of a long stretch of bearable weather. It stays green down here for fall and most of the winter. I’m still in love with the beauty of the place so my mood doesn’t change in that regard. And people are still cheery here. I’m not sure if they share my mindset or if it’s just southern hospitality vibes. Fall is the beginning of the holidays and a love of a different set of colors, but colors nonetheless. 

This place is my home. I still feel blessed that life led me here. I feel joy in being here. I fell in love and I’m happy where I’m at. If money isn’t an issue one day, I may travel a few times in the summer to get away from the heat. If not, I will find indoor activities. 

I do not hate snow anymore. I just don’t want to live with it. It’s nice to look at. It’s nice for Christmas and the holidays in general, I suppose. It snows here sometimes, and I don’t mind it then. It’s only once every few years where we get it, though, and only once every several years where it may stick for the day. They aren’t used to snow here. They aren’t equipt for it. They do not have plows or salt. Therefore, when it does snow, we get to stay home. Everything is shut down. Adds a nice bonus to it. I’m at an age where I can appreciate everything for what it has to offer. My switch to a positive mindset above all really helps. I feel like Pollyanna (movie from 1960, well before my time.  The year my dad was born, actually). I’m always looking for the good in everything. It’s been life changing. And it’s new. Like less than 2 months new. But I feel great. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?