As many of you experienced, or at least now know, I have
lived in Florida my entire life. That is 30 years of sunshine, the beach,
swimming pools, iced tea and alligators that sweat. I now live in a COMPLETELY
different weather pattern, and it is confusing to my social life.
In order to try and help my transition to life here, I
finally made the change over to Celsius. I know you’re probably thinking,
“Uhhh, you’ve been in Celsius for four months.” But I really haven’t. Any time anyone
mentions the weather (which is usually the first topic that people come to
because they are jealous of the Florida sun), I have described my homeland in
terms of Fahrenheit and might convert if I knew of a specific conversion (which
I usually didn’t). I recently decided that I would only refer to the weather in
Celsius. You might be thinking, what’s the big deal? Well, to me, it is a big
deal. It’s a change. It’s a change that I never expected to make in my life.
And I’m a person who learns something and then sticks to that method because
it’s supposed to work every time you do it that way. So this change is a
difficult one for me. It has resulted in my frequently checking the weather app
on my phone and switching it back and forth between C and F so that I can
compare the numbers and try and remember what they convert into, but at least
I’m trying. Here is what I have learned so far:
10°C=50°F
20°C=71°F
31°C=85°F
10°C-31°C=snuggle me please, Husband.
I find it kind of funny, actually, because everyone here
talks about how hot 31°C is and how they can’t survive it, and I’m sitting here
craving it and wondering whether or not Husband will melt when we finally move
to Florida. He likely will. I think another reason that I have been reluctant
to speak in Celsius is because when the numbers are lower it seems SO much
colder. Which brings me to my original topic J
Living in a cold country is confusing to me. I have always
said that I wanted to live somewhere that is cold because I was so sick of the
hot weather. Now that I’m living that life, my mind thinks about the grass
being greener and other such applicable clichés. I now know that my body just
can’t handle the cold. I spend every day wearing two or three layers of shirts,
sweaters, tights, socks, and then I put furry boots on top of it all. And
that’s just to stay inside the house! I wouldn’t even mind that….if I wanted to
stay at home all the time. The rampant and abusive cold, tic-tac sized hail,
and afro-inducing wind keeps me from wanting to leave the warmth of my guest
blankets and the couch. I’m beginning to realize, however, that not everyone
feels the same way (particularly my husband) and that I need to get over it (my
words, not his). People keep on living their lives despite bad weather. Go figure.
They simply put on more clothes and go stand in it. They put on their tights
and jeans and coats, and then they pile wet gear on top of it and grab an
umbrella and they go and live their lives.
At first I thought the weather was too harsh. I was better
off at home. But I’m realizing that I’m missing out on things by being afraid
of the cold. I’m missing my life. Before I moved here, I was looking forward to
living somewhere new and experiencing different things. But the wind scared me
into my house and I’ve been missing out on those experiences. Even if it was
something simple like not wanting to walk to the store because my face was
already numb from walking to the bathroom. Or avoiding doing yard work (which I
love!!) because there is too much rain. I’m going to suck it up and live my
life, regardless of weather pattern!
Lunch on the patio on a beautiful sunny weekend would be
nice, though. But then again, so would a patio table and chairs.
