Weather, or Not

This is not meant to upset anyone, I'm not being inconsiderate, and I don't want anyone to think I'm sitting around laughing at the potentially dangerous weather some parts of our country is experiencing. Trust me, I've paid my dues.

I grew up in Chicago, my most favorites city EVER, save for the fact that my nose hairs would freeze in the winter tundra. And I hated the suffocating sensation of being bundled up in cold weather clothes. Those frigid temperatures don't allow a fashionable female to look "cute" in her trendy peacoat, saucy hat, and jaunty scarf. Oh noooooo. It was layers and layers upon layers of gear, topped off by a North Face jacket. Or two. Ya end up looking like that giant thingamajig from "Ghostbusters."

Follow that by 3 years of law school in Syracuse, New York, where one winter it snowed so much I couldn't find Black Magic in the driveway. It was BURIED. In SNOW. Guess what I had to do? Yup. Walk the 2 miles to school. Which was something I enjoyed doing in spring and fall, and the reason why I rented my place so close to campus. But in neck-high drifts of snow??? NO, it was not a good time.

I was determined to get to my class that day, but for the life of me, I can't remember why at this moment. It may just have been temporary insanity. I do remember that it took me 87 minutes to walk through that snow. No joke. 87 minutes to walk 2 miles!!! And out of a class of about 70 students, only about 9 or 10 of us showed up for class, including the professor. Which pissed me off because the majority of students LIVED ON CAMPUS...literally a stone's throw from the law building. Grrrrr.

Upon graduation, I decided that if I didn't move somewhere warm, I was never going to make it there. You tend to put down roots, we do that as humans you know.

I was born in Afghanistan, a landlocked country, but I'd lived in Istanbul, Athens, Chicago, and lived/studied/worked in Costa Rica and Barcelona....all cities by a large body of water. So that explains my insatiable desire to plant roots somewhere by the water. And somewhere warm dangit! Curiously, I *almost* accepted a job in Connecticut after law school, but then slapped myself senseless. Moved to San Diego instead, and somehow ended up meeting, falling in love, and marrying a boy from Connecticut anyway. Kismet, she is something else!

(Sometimes I wonder if I'd made the decision to work in CT, would I have perchance met Ed on a visit home from San Diego??? These are just some things that make me go "hmmm"...)

Today I am grateful I live in this beautiful, warm, sunny city. I really am. I don't ever take it for granted. I worked very hard to get where I am, and I love living here. Sure, there are times I miss the seasonal changes, but not enough to make me want to leave. We get the occasional rainstorm, and that suits me just fine. Plus, I can always visit the cold cities of my past. I have a sister just outside of Baltimore who won't be visiting much of anything anytime soon, not even the grocery store. Thank you God, for blessing me with our life here: