Nuthin like Spring

As a southerner, I've never really lived in a place that has actual SEASONS. My recollection of the southeast is this: hot and humid as hell. mosquitos. huge blood thirsty mosquitos. three showers a day for 4 - 5 months. me being grumpy. an actual lovely fall. crisp with a short burst of fall hued (whutever that is supposed to mean) leaves. then, psuedo winter. not cold enough to bundle up and drink hot cocoa by the cheery fire (my father has been known to turn the a/c up in the middle of winter inorder to have a fire. several times a "winter"), but dreary and damp. and too bone chilled to do much outside if your not accostomed to the winters of the north. ahhh . . .spring. one week. then, hot and humid as hell. mosquitos. huge blood thirsty . . . well, you know.

my recollection of the southwest. 8.5 months of near "perfect" weather (read: NO humidity or mosquitos). i mean, for 3.5 of those months, it's hot, and i do mean HOT, but just sit under a shade tree and drink yourself a cool beverage, and life is just flat out good. get yourself a hammock if you move to the southwest. trust me. 3.5 months of psuedo winter, with a surprising amount of bone-chilling humid coldness. Never stopped me from taking my dog for a long hike, though.

Then, i moved to New York and experienced my first "winter". and I say "winter" because all of you keep telling me that this was nuthin. and i believe you. but i did have to wear long underwear and bundle up and wear hats and scarves and mittens. and i got to drink hot chocolate and tea, not for the novelty of it, but because i was COLD after taking my dog for a walk. The last portion of the walk ALWAYS up against the wall of wind from the waterways.

And your parks. Bursting with humanity on the very first inkling of a warm spring day. And people actually smile at each other, in the parks. For the past few months, we've been too bundled up and too pissy to even acknowledge each other . . .