Move! That’s what I did. Living in the north, I found that I had to live my whole life around the weather. When a wonderful church was planned for my ladies group, there was a horrific ice storm that knocked down trees, took out the power and generally rendered us helpless, besides having a tree fall on top of the house.

One day as I was going to work, I was driving on the belt line and stopped at a red light; well I thought I was going to stop. Instead my can swung around on the heavy snow and ice and faced an oncoming truck. I had to restart the car, swing it back around, and make a right to get out of his path. That was close.

Each January, February, and March the days would be so dark and gray that most everyone went into a depressive state. Even if we could go out because the weather would cooperate, we didn’t feel like it. The sun didn’t shine for weeks and sometimes months at a time. We built a large house that was absolutely wonderful to live in. I was determined not to be depressed that year. Could I manage that? No. No matter how happy or satisfied with life I happened to be, it was impossible not to become depressed. I love the sunshine and need it to exist.

Now I live in a southern state. Does the weather stop me? Yes, sometimes, but not often. There was an important meeting that I didn’t want to miss. Did I miss it, you bet. A tropical storm happened, unpredicted, and rendered us without power for days, trees were down, water was rolling in the streets. However, this type of weather catastrophe is rare and it doesn’t happen every year or every month, but it does happen.

Have I regretted moving? Sometimes I do, but never during the winter. The mish-mash of people from all over the world makes for an interesting mix. However, the morals and values I grew up with and continue are difficult to maintain. In the north there were a few bad apples in dealing with people, here there are a few good apples and you have to try hard to find them. It is difficult to do business in an atmosphere such as this. I have friends of all cultures, but you have to really look hard to find people that have your same values.

The job market is not the same either. The pay is minimal; they say the pay is the year round sunshine. The employers do not have the same values and ethics that I grew up with either. To find one has been impossible. Does the sun fry their brains?

It took a year and a half to feel like I could live here and didn’t want to go back. Of course, the thought of the ice and snow and minus freezing temperatures helped me make that decision also. It took 13 years before I could really feel like for the first time that this was home.

I do live my life by the weather, or I would still be living in the north. Weather is a big factor for me. Am I alone in this? I don’t know how other people live their lives. I’ll stay where I am for now.