The Great Defrost

So why move 1382 miles (give or take, depending on which way Google decides to take you this time) away from the land we've always known as "home"? I've been asked this question several times over the last year and a half. Let's start at the beginning. I was born a few years back...ok fine - - a few more...ok, WAY more than a few years ago. I was born in the middle of a blizzard and I often imagine I was screaming my head off in miserable disgust. Why?!!! Why here!??! It's SOOOO cold here!!! I am fairly certain from that day forward, one of my many goals in life would be to find somewhere warmer to live.

I'm a cold person, ask anyone and they'll tell you it's true. (insert as many laughs as you'd like here depending on who you ask this question and how you ask it) If it's not near 80, I'm cold. If it's near 70, I'm shivering inside my skin. If it's in the 90's, I'm finally comfortable. Now add the environment into the mix. Roughly 9 months a year it's REALLY cold up north (for me). There are way too many days when the wind chill factor reaches 50 below in the "winter months". It's the - your eye lashes freezing to your eye lids - kind of cold. It takes your breath away. Be careful if you leave your house with a wet head and accidentally "break" your instantly frozen hair, you may be in for a spontaneous hair cut you never wanted. The interstates are often closed down because of snow, blowing snow, ice and typically all of the above. Think I'm exaggerating?

Sure, snow is pretty, I won't ever deny that. I won't deny it's super pretty the first snow fall when everything is all white, clean and fresh feeling. Seven months later, when it's still crunching under every footstep and there are still 3 more blizzards predicted, it's not so pretty any longer. Perhaps I can admit there is something pretty about it....from 1382 miles away.

It was time to hang up the boots, snow shovels and finger warmers and look at places in the south. It was time. I was cold, ready to thaw out, and hit the beloved defrost button for a while. There was a quick exploration trip and plenty of watching of weather patterns for months in this planning and preparing time. Warm, just get me someplace warm!

The second trip 1382 miles south there were exactly 24 hours spent with a realtor to find the perfect house. My young adult children and three dogs had to be accounted for while trying to pick the perfect house in less than 24 hours. Why was no one recording this crazy process? It was the very last 2 houses viewed before heading back north that an offer was put in on a house. It was the first choice. It had plenty of room for my young adults to stay as often as they'd like and plenty of yard space for the dogs to run and run and run. It's the important things....

I sincerely wasn't sure my car would be able to get unstuck from the last snow storm when moving time came. The tires were frozen to the ground, and yes, I drove it daily. Things happen while you sleep when you live in the north.

A few hours of hair dryers and shoveling and my car decided it would come along for the drive after all.

It was a crazy time. Adventurous, fun, scary and sad all in one. I was leaving my family and friends which broke my heart. I was also excited for all the new things that laid ahead in the next 1382 miles. The transition process hit me hard and I wasn't expecting that. No one tells you how different things are in the north vs. the south. The south has package stores, they don't mail packages in these stores, they sell liquor. Packages = liquor down here. Who knew? I learned the first time I tried to mail a "package".....oh, I get it now.... yes, now I understand, people don't mail a lot of things here, they buy liquor. At least that's similar to the north. There are tag offices here. When you need to register your car, this is where you should go. Tags are license plates. Like tagging your car, your it!! I gotchya for another year buster...

People here complain about the heat. I don't get that. After 40 some (still young) years of being frozen, I think I'm still defrosting. I sincerely love every degree. Every. Single. Degree. I would like it 90-100 every day. I have been a bit spoiled this year with it being in the 90's on average since April. I love this. Like REALLY love it. The sun feels amazing. The heat wraps around me like a warm blanket, fresh from the dryer, hugging the chill out. The outside is my happy place.

The sounds are different down here too. Up north, when you walk or drive out onto the lake to go ice fishing, there's all those cracking and creaking sounds of the ice underneath you. In the south, there are these "night sounds" - I love them. I know and realize they are bugs and some people don't like bugs. I get that. Seriously, the sounds they make though. It's like a new melody every night. You can walk right out your door day or night and have a new experience every single day. I love every sound, every degree and every one of these experiences. It makes my heart dance. The skies are so clear you can see a gazillion bright stars every night. I like it outside. This house is nice and it'll do for now, but really, I like it outside the best. There is so much to enjoy and experience, right outside the door.

Just listen to those sounds. Some people really love the north and the cooler temps. I respect that. I am thankful that we all love different things so there aren't too many people in one area of the earth. We all need to love different things. It makes us the individuals we are. Just realize what you love and embrace it with everything within you. Skip to your own beat. Be who you are and love yourself and all that is around you. It's you. It's life. And it's YOUR adventure.

#movingsouth #northerngirl #adventure #beyou #snow #blizzard #nightsounds #freezing #sunshine