Am…musings

Winter is the price I’m willing to pay for spring and fall. Winter is the price I’m willing to pay for spring and fall. Winter is the …

My sweet, slightly philosophical line at all other times of year becomes my mantra in winter … repeated over and over as I can see my breath and no longer feel my fingers and toes when I’m standing outside for any extended period of time in this 20- and 30-degree frigidness.

The line came to me when I needed a pithy reply after about the fiftieth time of being asked why on earth I’d returned to St. Louis after living in Florida.

Spring … with her tulips, blooming trees and excitement of fresh beginnings … and fall … with her gorgeous foliage, crisp air and desire to relish every last minute of pretty weather … really were instrumental in my decision. Those things simply don’t exist in the Sunshine State. I also missed Missouri’s lush rolling hills and rivers and streams. Don’t get me wrong … Florida is beautiful too, and I count a few of its residents as some of my closest friends. Because of that, I’ve always said I have two homes … when I’m in Florida, I miss St. Louis. When I’m in St. Louis, I miss Florida. But ultimately … at least at this point in my life … St. Louis has won my heart.

Of course, there’s still this bitter cold to contend with. My mantra and another reminder of something I didn’t have in Florida are getting me through so far this year. The other reminder? It’s this great song by Owl City about fireflies. I didn’t even realize Orlando is nearly firefly-less until I moved back to St. Louis. As crazy as it sounds, the little bugs just make me smile … as does this song … even as I listen and sing along with visible breath in the car as I wait for it to warm up.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 8:32 pm and is filed under random thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.