I trust you all had a nice Christmas and a safe New Year. I did. I have a pedicure waiting for me! But it’s going to have to get a lot warmer than it is right now before I venture outside in sandals to put on after my toenails are painted. This weather is not what I expected when I moved to the sunny South. And I know it’s not just here but all over the country. I heard that 49 of the 50 states are dealing with this miserable weather; I have not yet heard what that lone state is that’s not suffering from rain, snow, wind, or ice. Is it where you live? If so, good for you! Texas, Florida, California, and 46 other states are all putting up with this &*%# winter weather.
By now, you may have figured out that I don’t like winter. I
grew up in Vermont but I didn’t like winter as a kid, either. My mother
pushed me outside, bundled up so tightly I couldn’t move, and said, “Go
outside. Play in the snow. Have fun.”
Sure. My sister and I went out and made a snow angel, threw
a snowball or two, made a quick snowman, and dug a tunnel through the snow bank
the plow had left at the end of our driveway, then banged on the door asking to
be let back in. For the five minutes it took us to “play outside,” it had taken an
equal amount of time to get snowsuits, boots, hats, gloves, and scarves on,
then even more time to get the wet items off. Our wrists and ankles, where
snowsuits didn’t quite reach our mittens and boots, were red and stinging from
the cold. Our noses were red and running. Our wet outer clothes covered all the
floor registers so that in one room you could smell warm wet rubber, in another
warm wet wool, and so forth. If there was an unused register, you could find us
standing on it in an attempt to get warm.
Fast forward and having lived in Connecticut for thirty
years where I still hated winter, I moved to San Diego, CA to get warm.
Beautifully, wonderfully, overwhelmingly warm. All year round. You could see people sunbathing in January on the grass in Balboa Park and in February you could sit on the beach at La
Jolla Shores and watch the swimmers play in the waves. If you wanted snow, it was just a short
ride to the mountains. What I laughed at was seeing a pickup truck driving back
into town with a two-foot snowman in the truck bed; a snowman they had made in
the Laguna Mountains by scooping up snow with a surfboard and now their
creation was melting in the San Diego sun.
You may notice that in my books, whenever the season is winter,
I don’t say how much fun the family has outside skiing, sledding, fully
enjoying winter. No. I use my imagination a lot when I write, but I can never
imagine anything fun, good, or nice about winter. They say, “Write what you
know,” so that’s the ONLY time I fully write what I know.
All this to say, I’m ready for summer! I want it and I want
it now. I’m tired of being cold. It is, however, a good time to curl up with a good
book. I have a few if you need any suggestions. 😊
Quote of the Day: "Winter changes into stone the water of heaven and the heart of man.” Victor Hugo
