dear mother nature; any way we could negotiate on some northern weather issues?

dear mother nature; any way we could negotiate on some northern weather issues?

I’t makes me happy that I have friends and family in so many great places that I get to spend time and stay with. I’m now sitting on a porch swing sipping coffee at my friends house in Chicago after my morning run along the lake with the city skyline in perfect view. Absolutely love it here. I’ve visited quite a bit in the few years she’s lived here in the Windy City. Chicago has been my favorite city in the U.S since my first visit back in 2001. If it weren’t so cold here, I’d have moved here in a heartbeat then. I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to buck up, buy some wintery clothes and get my shovel ready. Automatically eliminating the Chicago’s NY’s, Boston’s etc. of the country based on snow and frigid temperatures has been Ok for me this far, but I’m missing out on living in some killer places. So what to do when you really hate the cold? I mean really hate it.

As I trek along to reach this goal of mine, share time with people I love, and scope out my next potential stopping point to reside, I try not to think about how crabby I’d be with 3 feet of snow somewhere in January. Instead I daydream of of the vibrance and energy of a new city, the new food I’ll get to try , the new friends and community of people I’ll make, the work I’ll do and the next new phase of life. We’ll see if this works. I know my little sis, among many of you are reading this right now are laughing at me knowing that I’ll be cussing at the sign of temperatures below 50. (You’re right. I will be. I’ll also likely call you, complain, then ask you to brainstorm how we can make a yearly 3 week vacation to South America possible so I can make it through the cold without insanity setting in.) Taking the good with the bad, maybe I’ll be able to trade the warm winter weather of a southern city, for the cold snow of a northern one with a bit of grace. (Ok, ok- insert laugh here, I’m not sure “grace” has ever described me…) It’s feeling like it’s time to switch it up and at least try though. I look forward to seeing what happens and how my tolerance level develops for extreme weather. So many incredible places to live, so few years of 1 life.

Ok, I’m off to the train downtown to meet Al and explore the city. Maybe we’ll go shopping for some boots and gloves…