Now that the rain is gone...

Where do we go from here? The rain has tucked itself away in the clouds again and the skies gave way today to some gorgeous sunshine. Kids are out in shorts and flipflops on their skateboards. California, I do love you. And Illinois, I miss you!

Seasons

One thing I love about living in Southern California is the weather. Almost any day of the year, you can look out the window and see a kid in shorts and a teeshirt whizzing past on a skateboard. It is sunny...well, a lot. Even when it's cool, you will still see people in shorts and tee shirts (oh, and flip flops of some machination.) Southern California, therefore, I perceive, has an even and easy going temperament. No major highs or lows, just a nice steady even keel. For instance, you never feel the anxst of that first gloomy day of winter when the grass has turned grayish white, the sky is a darkish gray and the cold digs deep into your bones. You also never feel that exquisite pain of joy when in spring, the icy puddle begins to crack and the sweet smell of the earth comes back to you after months of deep and bitter rejection of your longing soul. You never feel that isolation of being snowed in from the world as snowdrifts blow up against your house and cover your front door. In Southern California, you're never forced to stay home and drink hot chocolate and read and think and pray and doodle and stare out the window because you just can't get out of the house. You can never be dark or moody or brooding...t.s. eliot seems a bit over the top...because in southern california, it's just plain sunny, well, almost all the time. So, as the rain comes down and the heater is on, what do I do with these feelings?

Decorating the tree

What the holidays might be about

Stuffing yourself with Gingerbread Cookies, Getting a Christmas Tree, Saying goodbye to your crib so that baby Sam can have it, and doing the family photo at Home Depot. Yep, I think I nailed it.