Weathering the Changes....

It's happened.
There was no bell ringing to alert me of the change. No deep toned gong that reverberated through the house, my ears and soul. Not even, if you can believe it, one little alert from any one, anything or all.
There was no hint, or forewarning that it was even ABOUT to happen. It just did. Quietly, and with out warning I have changed.
I'm a Southern Californian. Oh hell yeah I knew that part, logically, already. You can't go through the whole INS paper work love fest with out KNOWING what you're doing and becoming....at least on paper. A permanent resident of the United States, fine, sounds good, specifically a resident of Southern California. Sounds better. And I was prepared for what that all meant.....on paper.
BUT
I didn't realize how I'd be changed on a molecular level.
I am thinking it is a mixture of living in a sunny state of existence for so long now, increasing my pepper consumption by over 7839% and having only touched snow once now in the last 7 years.
And that snow was in the desert after a quickie trip to Las Vegas so I hardly think it even qualifies as snow.
I mean sure it had all the right qualities, icy, white, frozen and on the ground but....it was in the desert. Cacti, rocks and tumble weed live in the desert....so what ever this frozen white mounds of stuff was....it wasn't REAL snow.
It's more like the third cousin twice removed from snow. (so says the former resident of Nova Scotia, Canada)
All I know is today it's raining, the sky is grey and the wind is whipping about and I stare out across the neighbor's yards from behind the safety of the patio doors. At how wet the ground is. At the puddles that have formed here and there and how everything is green and shimmery, slick with rain....barely February mind you, and I am shivering.
Imagining the trek to the grocery store through such miserable dark weather as akin to tramping through 2 feet of snow down an icy driveway just to check the mail. Oh wait. I've done that.
I've lived through 20 plus Canadian winters, have oodles of family STILL experiencing the joys of knocking snow off their firewood and drying mittens out by the fire and sitting close to the wood stove and eating hot soups and sitting under the blankets with hot soup in your lap and your feet soaking in another bowl of hot soup as you sip a mug of hot soup and try to relax the slight tick under your right eye when the weather man says cheerfully "only 3 inches tomorrow" Lovely.
And it can be, there's no denying the elemental beauty of snow. But when you get away from it, out from under the hypnotic spell of winter after winter....after winter.....after yet anotttthhhhhherrr winter, the never ending cycle of nice weather followed by freezing your toes and other even more important bits off, you change. Be it for better or for worse you change.
I changed.
I didn't mean to. I didn't make any sort of conscious decision.
But I've changed.
I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, my husband kindly points out "it's all relative." I agree, but am only reminded once more of my Canadian relatives, big strong Canadians, who casually mention that the schools were closed today because temperatures dropped to -45 degrees Celsius. I shivered so hard at the thought that I fell off my chair and had to console myself with chocolate....
Later, I contemplate the insanity of REAL winter weather like that as I shivered some more in my t-shirt while picking oranges off the tree out back. Glaring up at the California sky that has dared to darken with much needed storm clouds. Actual drops of rain fell and splattered on my arms, IT TOUCHED MY SKIN! And I shivered, ran for the safety indoors, in to the arms of my husband and more chocolate. Oh yes I have certainly changed, she who once ran outside in a t-shirt when it was MINUS degrees out, literally in a blizzard to grab a stick of ice coated firewood with bare hands. She who stepped out on to a snow covered porch in bare feet to grab the cat who wanted in. She who now babbles incoherently, chocolate smeared face, wide eyed pointing in distress at the drops of rain on the oranges to her husband.
Once, when we were walking down the stairs one evening to the car, we paused, literally to smell the flowers. Mysterious little unnamed blooms that smell sweeter then any rose and I saw my breath puff out in distinct white clouds. YEAH, it was THAT cold.
After I awoke from my dead faint, we continued on our merry way to the grocery store, ran our errands, drove back home under the waving branches of palm trees and twinkling stars and agreed that we were both glad we wore our gloves and that we'd best light a fire in the fire place as soon as we were inside.
Yep.......I've changed.
There used to be a time when snow drifted against the side of the house and I crunched on icicles I found outside. Made snow balls with my bare hands, rolled in the snow making angels and went sledding for hours.
Now, well...now....when the skies are grey and the patio slippery with rain, when the palm trees shiver so do I. When puddles gather on the patio, rain drops splash against the windows and when the wind howls...so do I.
I've most definitely changed.

(dressed in all my fine cold weather gear to brave the elements in the out of doors.)