But the Weather Can Kill You…

I’ve secretly been waiting for a friend to remind me that I said I never wanted to live where the weather can kill you. And now I’m moving to Texas.

So this means, no one listens to me or they’re afraid to bring it up….

Yes, the weather in Texas is not what I would call a selling point. I moved there the first time as a sophomore in high school. Up to that point, I don’t think I had ever been so hot or so cold in my entire 15 years. Tornado watches, warnings, thunderstorms, torrential rain… it is a whole lotta’ weather in the Lone Star State.

My recent visit there was a sort of endurance test. Texas in July. If I could survive, then I could survive.

It barely made it to 100 and on the 4th of July, it was in the high 80s with a breeze. The one day it felt really hot, no one was out. And the A/Cs were all running. Texans know it’s hot and set the thermostat accordingly.

I will say that the last night there was a big storm. Rain, lightning, thunder that rattled my teeth. I was glad I didn’t have to drive in it.  Little Sir slept through it all.

On the other end of the spectrum, I had never seen it snow until I lived in Texas. The first day of it, I asked a teacher if I could move near the window.

Sleet, black ice…all new terms for me that first winter. In California, they’d canceled school due to high winds. In Texas, it would take much more than wind to close the school. Like the SuperBowl (the one year it was played on a Monday). Okay, it was also icy that day but I’m thinking the game played a part in the decision-making.

But I can’t pick where to live based on weather. And what is in Texas is worth more than temperate temps: great friends, family, good schools, thriving job market, affordable housing…brisket, fried catfish, Bluebell ice cream…

So yes, that weather. But it didn’t kill me back then or last week. And with this move, I intend to do more than survive. I intend to thrive.