I was born and raised in the Deep South. I lived there until
the late 90s when I moved to Seattle (that is a story unto itself). I spent a
total of 11 years living in metro Seattle until a few years ago when I was able
to move back to the east coast. Since coming back, I appreciate what I didn’t
realize growing up: the sun makes a BIG difference in my life.
Every so often when I mention I used to live in Seattle, people
tell me, “I thought Seattle was beautiful!” When I ask what time of year they
visited, often the answer is “July” or “August”. Of course Seattle is beautiful
in the summer. It only rains a few times a month and the air temperature is a
lovely 70-80 degrees with low humidity. Only rarely does the mercury climb
above 90. Most homes don’t have air conditioners; it isn’t needed.
Seattle has two seasons: Wet and Not Wet. After living there
so long, I’ve come to refer to that area of the country as “The Pacific
Northwet”. From late September to early June it rains, mists, or is cloudy 90%
of the time. The total amount of measurable rainfall isn’t much more than
Boston or Atlanta, but the difference is how the precipitation falls. On the
east coast, rain comes in the form of thunderstorms in the summer and rain or
snow the rest of the year. Between the storms are plenty of sunny days, even in
the middle of winter. In Seattle,
there are rarely “frog choking” rains. Instead, it mists, fogs, and gently
“showers” on you. Natives don’t bother with umbrellas. The last year I lived
there, I heard on the news about a school district in metro-Seattle that actually
cancelled school because it was SUNNY. I’m not kidding.
“Come on now, it can’t be THAT bad. What’s wrong with a
little rain?” Imagine this: you wake up for the second straight week of flat,
gray clouds and mist. The sun hasn’t been out for more than an hour in over a
month. You are surviving on lots of coffee and standing near daylight bulbs.
The sun comes up at 8:30am and sets at 4:00pm. You look at the week’s forecast
and it shows nothing but clouds and showers. The high for the day is 48. The
low is 42. Again. This is what I endured winter after winter when I lived
there. To top it off, the last five years I lived there we had record floods,
record wind storms, and a LOT of snow. It was enough to make me want to crawl
in bed and hibernate for the rest of my days.
Before any permanent damage was done to my psyche, I moved
to a small suburban town near NYC a couple of years ago. I arrived in early
May, right when the really warm weather was making an appearance. One night, a
few weeks after moving, my husband and I went out for dinner. When we walked
out of the restaurant, I felt the most amazing thing: humidity. It was a warm,
calming sensation like a hug from a favorite aunt. To make it even better,
there were thunderheads developing on the horizon and a distant rumble rolling
across the landscape. I just stood there soaking in this wonderful, familiar
sensation. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed that sticky,
cling-to-your-skin feeling of warm humidity and the sound of rumbling thunder.
It felt like home.
These days I live near Washington DC and when we get a few
days of rainy, gray weather, I have flashbacks to my Seattle existence. I get
anxious and feel like I can’t work up motivation to be productive. I have to
drink coffee just to get moving. Then the sun comes back out and all is right
in my world again.
No comments:
Post a Comment