New England Summers

Every February or so a typical one-way conversation with my husband sounds something like this:
"I hate this place. Why are the winters so long here? It's time to move. Let's go south, we've lived here long enough. It's freezing again. Enough snow already, etc., etc."

And it's true. Any warm blooded Californian, even after 7 years of adjustment time, would struggle with New England's seemingly endless winters. (Yes, I recall even you Stephanie, griping about it last year). Add 4 babies under age 4 to the indoor wintertime lifestyle and you're bound to go crazy.

But New England summers...well...now here's a different topic altogether. New England summers are delightful. Several days in a row of heat and humidity are always squelched by a cool passing thunderstorm. Quiet family neighborhood homes are decorated with colorful gardens and soft-glow evening lamp lights. Even a typical walk around the block at dusk provides plenty to appreciate. Cotton-tailed rabbits sit quietly, while waiting for you and your curious, slobber-faced dog to hurry up and pass by. The trees are dense and green and full of chattering birds, squirrels and chipmunks. The crickets hum, the frogs croak. The click-click-click sound of echo-locating insect bats passes by as you watch their silhouettes dart from above. The scent of BBQ dinners fill the air and there is usually a distant sound of laughter from spirited neighbors.

People are generally more happy. The kids go outside every day and they love it. I can send them outside every day, and I love it. So for now, it's New England. In February, we'll start talking Carolina again.