A few months back I know I had mentioned my attempts to get off of soda and caffeine. Let me tell you, that was a horrible failure. It wasn't long before I was drinking sodas more often than I had before! I guess that's the trial of it all! It's hard to kick a habit when it's easier not to. It also doesn't help that the readily available water isn't so delightful to drink. Texas tap water leaves much to be desired.
Well, I'm trying it again. I've already pretty much succeeded at kicking the caffeine. The only soda I drink now is root beer, with the occasional break for something else. That much is a definite improvement. Not only am I doing something better for my body, but I'm showing a good example for my children, something I also find incredibly important.
When I was a child I remember my mother drinking soda what seemed all the time. While I have vague memory of my mother having milk in the morning, I never actually remember her drinking it. It's more that she told me she did, so it must be true. The refridgerator was always filled with diet coke and it seemed when she needed a drink, that's always what she had. My sister and I were always told to have juice, milk, or water more frequently, but I do remember my mother and her sodas.
I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that I grew up to be much the same way. All too often I'll grab a soda to quench my thirst, even though I know it won't work and I would be better with water. I find myself doing exactly what my mom cautioned my sister and I never to do, but always did herself, drinking soda first thing in the morning. I didn't even think about how bad it had grown until my room, not having a trash barrel in it at the moment, got cluttered with cans. I realized then that I had a problem. I kept telling myself I would cut back, but never really put much effort into it.
Just last night I had the urge to drink some tea. I used to be a big drinker of tea and hot chocolate. Both were lovely on cool fall days, straight through the winter. I would turn to tea and hot chocolate because they had such a calming effect on me. No matter how hectic things got, I could always sit down with a cup of tea and relax. Even when I was at work, I always knew a cup of tea would be just the answer.
Here I am now, sitting down and typing, and what is the drink I have beside me? All to often it would be soda. All too often I'd be drinking it down, not even really enjoying it anymore. I would have to guard that soda against my son who would sneak up and steal it, drinking it all down when I wasn't looking. Instead, I have my tea, the tea I don't have to worry about guarding. Even if he did decide to drink it all down, it's just lemon tea. It's not bad for him. It's actually quite good for him! It's hydrating, warm, and quite tasteful. I'd almost forgotten how wonderful tea was!
So for many reasons, I'm thankful for my tea today. It's a way to calm my stressed out nerves. It's a way to sit back and relax. It's one more step towards freedom from soda, so hopefully I'll actually be able to enjoy my soda when I have it. I'm thankful for tea because it's showing my children that you can always have a drink in your hand. It doesn't have to be water. With all the contraversy over the sugar in juice these days, I'm showing them they don't need that either. Instead, I'm showing them that there is a healthy option that's easy and so delightful on cool fall days.
Hmm...thinking about it, maybe it's time my daughter and I had a tea party!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
What Makes a Good Reader
It started two nights ago, this wonderful habit of reading to the girls as they get ready for bed. This used to be something my daughter and I would do every night, but with the move we stopped. I'm not even sure why we stopped, but we did. I decided not that long ago to pick it up again, starting with Peter Pan
.
The girls seem to love the story. Of course, the older two generally drop off to sleep before the chapter is even done, so I doubt how much they actually retain. However, this is a good experience for all of us. I get practice with my skills at reading aloud and they are exposed to classic literature, something they may not otherwise.
This got me thinking about reading. I've realized that I'm a horrible reader at stories like these unless I am well familiar. I don't know the proper inflection and emphasis, and I'm horrible at making it up on the fly. I need to practice with a book before I'm ready to read it for an audience, even if it is just children. To some degree, I'm finding that I have a hard time following the track of the story myself because I'm not a wonderful reader. I get the general gist of it, but I miss some of the more subtle and wonderful details.
Reading is something there isn't much emphasis put on in this country. Children learn to read and that's all well and good, but they don't really learn to read well. It seems the idea is to get them to read each individual word on the page and understand the general context, but they aren't expected to be able to read it for an audience. They aren't expected to bring the story to life with a richness and depth, the way I've hear good readers do. It makes the story so much less enjoyable.
I have to say, there is a difference. I remember there was this Grisham novel, though I couldn't say which. I tried to read it on my own, but I hated it. I swore I would never read any of his works. It was just so dry and wordy that I couldn't possibly plow my way through it. That summer my mother decided to bring it with us on our road trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. I rolled my eyes at the thought and figured it would be a good excuse to sleep the whole way. However, once I heard the reader's beautiful, rich, deep voice with that accent most associate with a Southern gentleman, I was sold. The words positively dripped off his tongue and I was so drawn into the story that I had completely forgotten I hated it and couldn't bear to read through it. The same goes for many classic works as well. I had tried to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
, but I could never bear to put myself through it until I heard Chip's narration while listening to CraftLit.
Perhaps more emphasis should be put on not only reading, but reading well. If there was more reason to read out loud, and read the story two or three times to perfect the telling, readers in this country would be better for it. The solution seems to be reading aloud as often as possible and to anyone who will listen. Read to the dog if that's what it takes, but read. The more you do it, the better you'll get.
At my house, I'm starting with simply reading to the children. My partner and I have decided we need to sit down and read novels to each other, just for something fun we can share. We want to focus on the classics, taking turns with reading through chapters. Maybe some day I'll turn it into a special book club. Instead of just meeting each week to discuss the book, we'll meet up and actually read the book together, like in school, and then share our thoughts on the piece. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
In the end, I hope that my children don't suffer the same fate. I hope they have a chance to view the world from the eyes of a wonderful reader, someone who can bring to life the very feel of a story through their own voice and tone. I hope they share that with their children, far off when they have their own. Most of all, I hope that they learn to love books as much as I do. I hope they see the value of these stories I hold so dear, and, unlike their mother, don't have to wait until adulthood to learn to bring those stories to life.
.The girls seem to love the story. Of course, the older two generally drop off to sleep before the chapter is even done, so I doubt how much they actually retain. However, this is a good experience for all of us. I get practice with my skills at reading aloud and they are exposed to classic literature, something they may not otherwise.
This got me thinking about reading. I've realized that I'm a horrible reader at stories like these unless I am well familiar. I don't know the proper inflection and emphasis, and I'm horrible at making it up on the fly. I need to practice with a book before I'm ready to read it for an audience, even if it is just children. To some degree, I'm finding that I have a hard time following the track of the story myself because I'm not a wonderful reader. I get the general gist of it, but I miss some of the more subtle and wonderful details.
Reading is something there isn't much emphasis put on in this country. Children learn to read and that's all well and good, but they don't really learn to read well. It seems the idea is to get them to read each individual word on the page and understand the general context, but they aren't expected to be able to read it for an audience. They aren't expected to bring the story to life with a richness and depth, the way I've hear good readers do. It makes the story so much less enjoyable.
I have to say, there is a difference. I remember there was this Grisham novel, though I couldn't say which. I tried to read it on my own, but I hated it. I swore I would never read any of his works. It was just so dry and wordy that I couldn't possibly plow my way through it. That summer my mother decided to bring it with us on our road trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. I rolled my eyes at the thought and figured it would be a good excuse to sleep the whole way. However, once I heard the reader's beautiful, rich, deep voice with that accent most associate with a Southern gentleman, I was sold. The words positively dripped off his tongue and I was so drawn into the story that I had completely forgotten I hated it and couldn't bear to read through it. The same goes for many classic works as well. I had tried to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
, but I could never bear to put myself through it until I heard Chip's narration while listening to CraftLit.Perhaps more emphasis should be put on not only reading, but reading well. If there was more reason to read out loud, and read the story two or three times to perfect the telling, readers in this country would be better for it. The solution seems to be reading aloud as often as possible and to anyone who will listen. Read to the dog if that's what it takes, but read. The more you do it, the better you'll get.
At my house, I'm starting with simply reading to the children. My partner and I have decided we need to sit down and read novels to each other, just for something fun we can share. We want to focus on the classics, taking turns with reading through chapters. Maybe some day I'll turn it into a special book club. Instead of just meeting each week to discuss the book, we'll meet up and actually read the book together, like in school, and then share our thoughts on the piece. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
In the end, I hope that my children don't suffer the same fate. I hope they have a chance to view the world from the eyes of a wonderful reader, someone who can bring to life the very feel of a story through their own voice and tone. I hope they share that with their children, far off when they have their own. Most of all, I hope that they learn to love books as much as I do. I hope they see the value of these stories I hold so dear, and, unlike their mother, don't have to wait until adulthood to learn to bring those stories to life.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sustainability Tip: Warm and Woolies
The weather change has once again got me thinking. As the temperatures drop in other areas of the country, heat will start coming on. It will seem like no time at all before our own heat comes on. For some families, this can be a time of excess and waste of energy. I know I'm usually guilty of that one. I'll admit, I'm happiest when the temperature is about seventy-five. In the summer, that's great! I save a good deal on my electricity bill because my air conditioner isn't cranking as much as every other house on the block. I'll be honest, in the summer I sometimes push my home temperature all the way up to eighty. Some find it too warm, but I find the amount I save on electricity to be worth it. In the winter, on the other hand, that's one of the worst things you can do.
When I was younger my family liked to keep the house warm. I remember someone saying that they didn't feel right having to put on a sweater to keep warm in their own home. They would rather be warm enough from the start. In other people's homes I always felt quite chilly and I hated it. I didn't see the point in keeping your home so uncomfortably cold. It made more sense to keep warm on cold days. I didn't realize then how many reasons there could be for this.
Keeping a house set at a cool temperature in the winter, of course, will save on your bill. It's one way to shave off a few bucks on electricity, gas, or oil bill every winter, just as I do with my air conditioner in the summer. That extra money can go to so many different things, towards financial freedom and living a debt free life to sustainability improvements to practical things like the grocery bill or savings. This is a huge help to families who use oil heat, as oil can be quite expensive.
On another side of things, turning the heat down a bit in the winter will also help the environment. No matter what you use to heat your house, there is a likelihood that it's related to some form of pollution. Because of this use of electricity, gas, or oil, more must be produced or processed. These facilities to produce or process that which brings us warmth produce their own impact on the environment. Even wood burning and pellet stoves produce their own pollution. Only those who use environmentally friendly means to heat their house, such as with solar heating, or use thermal insulation from the earth, can crank the heat however they like it without negative impact to the environment.
So remember as this year comes in, keep that thermostat turned down. If you don't like living in a cold house, bust out the warm and woolies. This is a perfect time to show off that cute pair of slippers you made for yourself. What better time to pull out your favorite sweaters or sweatshirts? Start the fashion trend of wearing a beret, hat, or even a decorative scarf or shawl in the house. There's no reason dressing warm should make you feel like you've got to "dress like a mom". Have fun with it.
When I was younger my family liked to keep the house warm. I remember someone saying that they didn't feel right having to put on a sweater to keep warm in their own home. They would rather be warm enough from the start. In other people's homes I always felt quite chilly and I hated it. I didn't see the point in keeping your home so uncomfortably cold. It made more sense to keep warm on cold days. I didn't realize then how many reasons there could be for this.
Keeping a house set at a cool temperature in the winter, of course, will save on your bill. It's one way to shave off a few bucks on electricity, gas, or oil bill every winter, just as I do with my air conditioner in the summer. That extra money can go to so many different things, towards financial freedom and living a debt free life to sustainability improvements to practical things like the grocery bill or savings. This is a huge help to families who use oil heat, as oil can be quite expensive.
On another side of things, turning the heat down a bit in the winter will also help the environment. No matter what you use to heat your house, there is a likelihood that it's related to some form of pollution. Because of this use of electricity, gas, or oil, more must be produced or processed. These facilities to produce or process that which brings us warmth produce their own impact on the environment. Even wood burning and pellet stoves produce their own pollution. Only those who use environmentally friendly means to heat their house, such as with solar heating, or use thermal insulation from the earth, can crank the heat however they like it without negative impact to the environment.
So remember as this year comes in, keep that thermostat turned down. If you don't like living in a cold house, bust out the warm and woolies. This is a perfect time to show off that cute pair of slippers you made for yourself. What better time to pull out your favorite sweaters or sweatshirts? Start the fashion trend of wearing a beret, hat, or even a decorative scarf or shawl in the house. There's no reason dressing warm should make you feel like you've got to "dress like a mom". Have fun with it.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Nap Time/Quiet Time
I think I need to start introducing a regular nap time for my family. There comes a point in the day where everyone's off at school and there's no one here but us. I find I can't get anything done with having to be dedicated to homeschooling and taking care of the children, so I often don't get anything done at all. I try to multitask, but we all know where that ends up. Doing more than one thing at once generally results in both things getting done very poorly.
With my two boys, we still need nap times. The youngest one still takes about two naps a day. The older one takes one long nap, but lately it's been a fight to get him down to sleep. My daughter is generally too old for naps, but I'm finding that she does still need one every once in a while. Having a regular bed time doesn't always mean she gets enough sleep. Even if she's not napping, she can have some quiet time to look at books where she isn't going to be making a lot of noise and waking up the younger two.
The wonderful thing about having quiet time during the day is the freedom to get the things I need to do accomplished, as long as I'm not making enough noise and waking everyone up. I can fold and put away laundry. I can start working on our budget. I can even kick back and work on some knitting or sewing while listening to a podcast on headphones. I might even find time to read a book! This will give me a chance to be something other than the woman in demand all the time. I can have a breather and just be me for a while in the middle of the day.
It's just nice to have a break sometimes. It helps remind me to take a step back. I spend so much of my day focusing on everyone else that sometimes it helps to spend some time on what I need to do.
With my two boys, we still need nap times. The youngest one still takes about two naps a day. The older one takes one long nap, but lately it's been a fight to get him down to sleep. My daughter is generally too old for naps, but I'm finding that she does still need one every once in a while. Having a regular bed time doesn't always mean she gets enough sleep. Even if she's not napping, she can have some quiet time to look at books where she isn't going to be making a lot of noise and waking up the younger two.
The wonderful thing about having quiet time during the day is the freedom to get the things I need to do accomplished, as long as I'm not making enough noise and waking everyone up. I can fold and put away laundry. I can start working on our budget. I can even kick back and work on some knitting or sewing while listening to a podcast on headphones. I might even find time to read a book! This will give me a chance to be something other than the woman in demand all the time. I can have a breather and just be me for a while in the middle of the day.
It's just nice to have a break sometimes. It helps remind me to take a step back. I spend so much of my day focusing on everyone else that sometimes it helps to spend some time on what I need to do.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Preparing for Fall
In Texas, fall isn't what I'm used to. The temperatures don't drop as much. The leaves don't really go anywhere at all. The wind picks up some, and evenings do get a bit of a chill, but it's not like back in New England. Over the three years I've been here, I've had to learn a whole new way to prepare for winter.
This time of year back home was filled with preparations for fall activities and on into winter. A lot of families started picking up heavy winter coats and snow boots for their children if the ones from last year were outgrown. Scarves, hats, and mittens start to be found. Warm, heavy socks are found in preparation for those first chills. It may be too early in the year to worry about wearing them, but it never hurt to have them on hand. When the weather turned, which always seemed to start earlier than expected, you would want to know exactly where all of it was.
Here in Texas, fall is rather different. During the day it stays quite hot, and often does straight through the winter. We've been known to have ninety degree days in January or February, matched with below freezing nights. Fall weather means digging out all the layers, that way you can prepare for all the changing temperatures, and the whole range of weather.
All summer long it's hot and humid. There seems to be no break from it all. Occasionally as summer starts to give way there's a few scattered storms as hurricanes hit the coast and gulf, blowing rain and clouds out our way. Usually it's fall where the rains start to come in, though it's never much. The temperatures can be quite nice and breezy, with just a hint of cool enough for a sweater early on. Early fall is rather mild in Texas, providing a break from the brutality of summer's heat and sun, a slow preparation for what is yet to come.
Of course, this is the perfect time to prepare for later in the fall. While now it may be quite nice out, later in fall the weather is much more of a challenge. Now is the time to start digging out sweaters, or buying new ones. You want to be prepared for the days of layering. Come late October and November you want to be prepared for the layers you may need to put on early in the morning or late at night, but not dress in a way where it's impossible to take them off when the day turns so warm and pleasant.
This is where I'm at right now. It's time to look into new sneakers for the children while it's still nice enough out to wear sandals. It's time to dig out sweaters before they'll need them. I'll need to pair all the mittens and be sure they are easy to find for when we'll need it. Hats need to be found and light jackets need to be checked for fit. Travel means packing the car with all sorts of extras "just in case it gets cool", a concept I wasn't so painfully aware of in New England. The diaper bag needs to be stocked with a sweater, hat, and socks at all times, and it may even be time to start looking for a jacket for the baby. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I should just leave a packed suitcase in the car with all of our "just in case" items for the weather.
That seems to be the challenge of Texas. Preparing for Fall means being ready for anything at a moments notice. Dressing for the weather is impossible. Knowing whether a hot lunch would be so much better than something cold is impossible to guess. Planning ahead is next to impossible when it comes to the weather. Just expect a bit of everything.
But, fall... I am looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to Halloween, where all the kids get dressed up for the occasion. I'm looking forward to our first Thanksgiving with this new family. It's my favorite time of the year. I just hope I'm ready for it!
This time of year back home was filled with preparations for fall activities and on into winter. A lot of families started picking up heavy winter coats and snow boots for their children if the ones from last year were outgrown. Scarves, hats, and mittens start to be found. Warm, heavy socks are found in preparation for those first chills. It may be too early in the year to worry about wearing them, but it never hurt to have them on hand. When the weather turned, which always seemed to start earlier than expected, you would want to know exactly where all of it was.
Here in Texas, fall is rather different. During the day it stays quite hot, and often does straight through the winter. We've been known to have ninety degree days in January or February, matched with below freezing nights. Fall weather means digging out all the layers, that way you can prepare for all the changing temperatures, and the whole range of weather.
All summer long it's hot and humid. There seems to be no break from it all. Occasionally as summer starts to give way there's a few scattered storms as hurricanes hit the coast and gulf, blowing rain and clouds out our way. Usually it's fall where the rains start to come in, though it's never much. The temperatures can be quite nice and breezy, with just a hint of cool enough for a sweater early on. Early fall is rather mild in Texas, providing a break from the brutality of summer's heat and sun, a slow preparation for what is yet to come.
Of course, this is the perfect time to prepare for later in the fall. While now it may be quite nice out, later in fall the weather is much more of a challenge. Now is the time to start digging out sweaters, or buying new ones. You want to be prepared for the days of layering. Come late October and November you want to be prepared for the layers you may need to put on early in the morning or late at night, but not dress in a way where it's impossible to take them off when the day turns so warm and pleasant.
This is where I'm at right now. It's time to look into new sneakers for the children while it's still nice enough out to wear sandals. It's time to dig out sweaters before they'll need them. I'll need to pair all the mittens and be sure they are easy to find for when we'll need it. Hats need to be found and light jackets need to be checked for fit. Travel means packing the car with all sorts of extras "just in case it gets cool", a concept I wasn't so painfully aware of in New England. The diaper bag needs to be stocked with a sweater, hat, and socks at all times, and it may even be time to start looking for a jacket for the baby. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I should just leave a packed suitcase in the car with all of our "just in case" items for the weather.
That seems to be the challenge of Texas. Preparing for Fall means being ready for anything at a moments notice. Dressing for the weather is impossible. Knowing whether a hot lunch would be so much better than something cold is impossible to guess. Planning ahead is next to impossible when it comes to the weather. Just expect a bit of everything.
But, fall... I am looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to Halloween, where all the kids get dressed up for the occasion. I'm looking forward to our first Thanksgiving with this new family. It's my favorite time of the year. I just hope I'm ready for it!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Adjustments: Clean Up Time
The hardest part of teaching my children to clean up after themselves is my three-year old. He wants to spend all his time playing and doesn't particularly care if his room is a mess. He seems to like it better that way. His sister fights so much on cleaning that he doesn't seem to think it's of any value. After all, aren't making messes where all the fun is? It's hard to explain to a three-year-old that cleaning up means there's more room to play, and that he'll know exactly where everything is when he wants to play with it.
It's also more of a challenge because there isn't really a place set up for my oldest son's toys right now. The toys in his room right now are all girl's toys. We've got to search through where his toys are packed up in the garage and see which ones will make it to his room, which ones will be saved for the youngest when he gets older, and which ones are ready to move on. It often means he gets into everyone else's toys for a lack of his own, which means the whole house can quickly become a mess.
Where the oldest is concerned, I understand her point. With two other girls in the house that she plays with all the time, it's hard to tell which mess belongs to who. They all complain that they didn't make the mess, and they all complain they're the ones doing all the work. It can easily get frustrating, so it's almost easier not to make anyone clean at all. Of course, in the end the girls usually work it out, but it's something that's going to take getting used to.
For me, there are a lot of lessons in the new dynamics of clean up time. These new challenges have pointed out the flaws in my organizational system. It's been a chance to realize that it's taking me much longer to settle in than I realized. I've got a lot to work on. It's also been a reminder that I need to lead by example with my children. I need to get organized in my own room, get it clean and orderly. My children have more reason to do it if they see me doing it. On top of that, I won't constantly be looking for things I've misplaced just like they do!
We're making progress when it comes to cleaning up. It's so much more of a challenge it used to be. When we lived on our own I always knew who was responsible for what mess and always had things organized they way I liked it. It takes time to get used to a larger family, more shared space, and all the complications that come with it. Overall, I'm enjoying the changes, but there's just so much left to work on.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
How I Miss Seasons...
Kids are back in school. Nights are getting nippier. Sweater weather is becoming more common. The leaves are dying and falling. As everyone bustles by on the busy streets, the leaves crunch so delightfully beneath their feet. It's finally fall!
Well, it is somewhere. That somewhere certainly isn't Texas. We've got beautiful sunny weather, not as hot in summer, but not really cool either. The nights are still humid, sometimes a little sticky. If we're lucky it will be cool enough out to be considered "nice". For some, this is heaven, knowing they'll never have to shovel snow or rake leaves again. For me, this is hell. I hate it, and I long to have my seasons back.
Having grown up in quaint New England, I'm used to having four of them each year. Our springs were windy and brisk, yet filled with a delightful splash of new growth, once things finally decided to grow, of course! The flowers came into bloom after a deluge of rain and all the snow melting. I've got fond memories of realizing it was finally warm enough out that a sweater was all I needed, and later in the spring delightfully casting that off as the days got warmer.
Summer was hot, but not brutal like it is here. The days were lazy and filled with the sound of "heat bugs" buzzing away. As a child, the summer was filled with swimming in the local reservoir, no longer used for drinking water, but instead to entertain the locals. When I had my own family we would go to the Frog Pond in downtown Boston or Revere Beach and wade with my daughter on weekends, enjoying the warm sun and all the families out and about. We would take walks in the Public Garden or on Boston Common, and then cram onto the subway when the crowds were headed to Red Sox games conveniently timed for rush hour traffic. In the evenings we'd sit out side in the cool, summer air, still sticky and humid, drinking lemonade and eating fruit from the local co-op. I particularly loved living in Salem this time of year, as we could walk down by Pickering Warf and enjoy the cool breeze from the ocean. Those hot summer nights were some of the best times I'd had, sitting on the front stoop with friends because it was too hot to be cooped up inside.
As the days turned cooler, we turned into fall, my favorite of the seasons. The leaves were all kinds of brilliant colors, then tumbled down to the street. With each step there was the satisfying crunch of leaves crushing beneath my feet. The air was sharp and crisp, with just a hint of frost later in the season. Pumpkins and corn husk decorations were everywhere. It was the season for baking, as it all came together for Thanksgiving, though that was usually more wintry than not. We'd go to the park and play as it was cool enough to truly enjoy it. Evenings were filled with long walks in the fresh, cool air, then we would come home to hot chocolate or warm cider. Those are the days I miss the most.
Winter came with it's own stunning beauty. Even when the snow had not yet fallen and all the trees were simply barren and dead, the bleary gray of winter had it's own light to me. Early on when all the Christmas decor went up, I found the season more delightful than any other. Even with the bleak dead surroundings, those cheery little lights seemed to perk everything up. Yes, it may have all been dead and cold, but there was a life brought to it. Then the snow came, and though I always hated the prospect of shoveling the miserable stuff, I did love the look of it. I can't count the times I decided to go for a walk, just because it was snowing. It was always so much warmer when it snowed, or so it seemed. The snow covered city looked so beautiful. Then came the ice, and while it made everything slick and dangerous, at the same time, everything glistened. I have to admit, during the day it was dreary and bland, but at night it was stunning.
Instead, I'm stuck with Texas. The summer is brutal. The fall and spring are mildly less so. Nothing ever really seems to die, and yet it does. The winter is like that of a desert, but there's none of the beauty of snow or ice. The cold doesn't stay for long, but is so unpredictable it's impossible to prepare. There's a delightfully long growing season, but by summer it's much too hot to garden. I'm realizing more and more how homesick I am for New England. I miss those seasons more than I want to admit!
Well, it is somewhere. That somewhere certainly isn't Texas. We've got beautiful sunny weather, not as hot in summer, but not really cool either. The nights are still humid, sometimes a little sticky. If we're lucky it will be cool enough out to be considered "nice". For some, this is heaven, knowing they'll never have to shovel snow or rake leaves again. For me, this is hell. I hate it, and I long to have my seasons back.
Having grown up in quaint New England, I'm used to having four of them each year. Our springs were windy and brisk, yet filled with a delightful splash of new growth, once things finally decided to grow, of course! The flowers came into bloom after a deluge of rain and all the snow melting. I've got fond memories of realizing it was finally warm enough out that a sweater was all I needed, and later in the spring delightfully casting that off as the days got warmer.
Summer was hot, but not brutal like it is here. The days were lazy and filled with the sound of "heat bugs" buzzing away. As a child, the summer was filled with swimming in the local reservoir, no longer used for drinking water, but instead to entertain the locals. When I had my own family we would go to the Frog Pond in downtown Boston or Revere Beach and wade with my daughter on weekends, enjoying the warm sun and all the families out and about. We would take walks in the Public Garden or on Boston Common, and then cram onto the subway when the crowds were headed to Red Sox games conveniently timed for rush hour traffic. In the evenings we'd sit out side in the cool, summer air, still sticky and humid, drinking lemonade and eating fruit from the local co-op. I particularly loved living in Salem this time of year, as we could walk down by Pickering Warf and enjoy the cool breeze from the ocean. Those hot summer nights were some of the best times I'd had, sitting on the front stoop with friends because it was too hot to be cooped up inside.
As the days turned cooler, we turned into fall, my favorite of the seasons. The leaves were all kinds of brilliant colors, then tumbled down to the street. With each step there was the satisfying crunch of leaves crushing beneath my feet. The air was sharp and crisp, with just a hint of frost later in the season. Pumpkins and corn husk decorations were everywhere. It was the season for baking, as it all came together for Thanksgiving, though that was usually more wintry than not. We'd go to the park and play as it was cool enough to truly enjoy it. Evenings were filled with long walks in the fresh, cool air, then we would come home to hot chocolate or warm cider. Those are the days I miss the most.
Winter came with it's own stunning beauty. Even when the snow had not yet fallen and all the trees were simply barren and dead, the bleary gray of winter had it's own light to me. Early on when all the Christmas decor went up, I found the season more delightful than any other. Even with the bleak dead surroundings, those cheery little lights seemed to perk everything up. Yes, it may have all been dead and cold, but there was a life brought to it. Then the snow came, and though I always hated the prospect of shoveling the miserable stuff, I did love the look of it. I can't count the times I decided to go for a walk, just because it was snowing. It was always so much warmer when it snowed, or so it seemed. The snow covered city looked so beautiful. Then came the ice, and while it made everything slick and dangerous, at the same time, everything glistened. I have to admit, during the day it was dreary and bland, but at night it was stunning.
Instead, I'm stuck with Texas. The summer is brutal. The fall and spring are mildly less so. Nothing ever really seems to die, and yet it does. The winter is like that of a desert, but there's none of the beauty of snow or ice. The cold doesn't stay for long, but is so unpredictable it's impossible to prepare. There's a delightfully long growing season, but by summer it's much too hot to garden. I'm realizing more and more how homesick I am for New England. I miss those seasons more than I want to admit!
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