1007: Challenge Before Change : Are Seasons Overrated?

"For everything, there is a season." --Proverb 

In Change, We Trust: After 30+ years of living in San Diego, with perfect weather, my wife tells me, "I miss the seasons."

How To Control Seasons: We went from two seasons to four seasons to one season.

Thought Things First: Instead of living in the seasons as they change, what can you do to change the season where you live? Life can move through seasons, and sometimes seasons move through life.   

This is an essay on how seasons and/or weather influenced where my wife and I chose to live. After we moved, the seasons affected our decision again in a way we didn't anticipate.

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

The Spring: My wife spent the first 18 years of her life in the Chicago area and I spent that same time period just outside of Seattle.

We both moved to San Diego, and in our early 30s, we met.

 A quick reference note - there are actually, for this essay, four of us taking part in this conversation, you, me, that little, inner, negative voice: Rattaboy.  <Hey! If you are going to call anyone little and negative, maybe try a little self-analysis...">> and DJaboy, who imagines the story's soundtrack. <Sort of a Songs In The Key Of Life perspective.">>

<"Hmm... I guess you could call this 'cold meets dreary.'">>

The Summer: We enjoyed San Diego for 30 years and watched it transform from a funky SoCal beach town with an Endless Summer to a different lifestyle. San Diego changed and evolved. 

Each year, the freeways would become busier, <Hard to believe.">> the density increased, housing costs skyrocketed, taxes rose, crime became more prevalent, and the beaches became overcrowded. 

The End Of The Endless Summer: The changes weren't all bad, but they just weren't for us anymore.

The Fall: One day, my wife said, "I am ready to move. San Diego has changed too much." She applied a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance and justified her statement by adding, "And I miss the change of seasons. I loved fall and winter in Chicago. I really miss the seasons." She was ready to move.

I simply wanted the sun. My wife wanted seasons complete with fall colors, a colder winter, and more rain -- just to accentuate the changing times of the year.

I loved San Diego and the weather, and I love my wife, but it takes two humans to work together to make a relationship so I agreed to investigate other places to live. <You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.*">>

In Search Of...: Over the next six months, we explored different states, and even different countries, before ultimately selecting (compromising) a sleepy, little, coastal town, Port Townsend, on the Olympic Peninsula just outside Seattle.

"A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it begins to rain." --Mark Twain

The Umbrella Academy vs. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg: I shared a tip with my wife on how I learned to distinguish natives from non-natives in Washington. I was probably in about seventh grade, over at a friend's house. There were some new neighbors across the street. My friend's mom looked out the window and saw them non-natives use the newer technology umbrellas, while natives are old school: they either wear rain slickers or they don't use any type of rain gear.

In fact, locals love the rain because it keeps people from moving to the area. <But the ruts in my road and the curves, keep the tourists at bay. And it's lonesome and peaceful, and you know I like it that way.">>

The Village That Amazon Forgot: Port Townsend <Port Townsend - or as I called it, the village that Amazon forgot. I would compare it to 1920s Appalachia, but 1920s Appalachia would be offended.">> offered seasons and because it sat in the rain shadow 

of the Olympic Mountains, it averaged only 20 inches of rain per year. Sure, that is about half the rain that Seattle (only 50 miles east) receives and just eight inches more than San Diego in a year. <It never rains in Southern California.">>

Opuntia Fragilis: In fact, 15 miles to the west is the only place in Western Washington you will find native cactus growing - Opuntia fragilis. <Fragilis, oh, just like your ego?">> Based on this cactus, I thought this would be proof of a great compromise between seasons and weather.

We moved and enjoyed the long summer days. We experienced a bit of self-satisfaction when we were watching the local Seattle weather forecast with the meteorologist outside, using an umbrella, and we had just a light sprinkle.

But Then It Was SAD, Really SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is the cute name given to a type of depression that correlates to the changes in seasons. The SAD symptoms typically begin in the fall and proceed into winter. SAD is like a slow-moving glacier, powerfully pushing your feelings aside and sapping your energy while making you feel lethargic. Overcast days and rain heavily contribute to SAD.

Light Therapy I: I was okay with SAD. Perhaps it was because I had grown up in the area, but I was either immune, inoculated, or ignorant of its effects. <Hey FullMoron, tell them you used that light-therapy device every winter morning. That is how you cheated SAD. I guess you didn't really get SAD because you are already a really sad dude.">>

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue: My wife, however, was a different story. Instead of going to yoga class 4-6 times a week, it soon became 4-6 times a month. She really didn't understand why her enthusiasm changed, but even strong morning coffee failed to provide the motivation to bundle up, turn the heat up in the car, run the wipers, and head to class.

"After three days, men grow weary of a wench, a guest, and rainy weather." --Benjamin Franklin

Here's a caption from a local weather forecast: "We're seeing the first sunny day in months!"

Light Therapy II: We ended up cheating the SAD seasons. My wife retired and my business allowed me to work anywhere with just a laptop. We found a great place to stay in Hawaii. The first year it was three weeks, then the next year, it was two months, and the next year, it was three months, and the next year... Well, we changed the quote:

"If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain." --Francis Bacon 

to

"If the sunshine will not come to us, then we must go to the sunshine."

Go West: We sold our Port Townsend home, packed my laptop and the kitties, and ended up moving to Hawaii. <Hey FullMoron, you're a real Jed Clampett.">>

Closing Thoughts

In short, change what you can control, and accept what you can't. There are many levels to control and sometimes you have to change your perspective, change your outlook, change where you live, or learn to live with change. All answers are correct; it's just what works best for you.

Thoughtercise: What is happening in your life that you would improve if you could? What would make it better? More money? A different place to live? A different job? What do you have to do to change and improve your life? Education? Change your work? Move? What is preventing you from taking action? What can you do to remove the barriers to progress?  How can we control things that can not be controlled by changing our perspective, location, or otherwise?

Click here for our Disclaimers, Disclosures, Disavowals, And Declarations (aka - I told you so).