Rebuilding Rob

There’s not a lot to love about the part of America that I live in. It’s hard here. When the country had a great housing market crash of the late 2000s, my metropolitan area was hit particularly hard by it. This is definitely very much a “working class“ region. so when businesses fold, or move out of the region, everyone is, at least, indirectly affected by it.

But to every dark cloud, there is a silver lining.; and one thing I love about the area I live in is that I get to experience all four seasons of the year.

It’s true, I don’t get to experience the intense dry heat of the southwest deserts. No, do I get to experience the excessive humidity of the southeast. I don’t see anything that resembles the excessive rainfall of the Pacific Northwest. Well, our winter is getting bad here, it’s not quite as bad as some of our other neighbors in the Great Lakes region. And I sure don’t get to experience anything like the near idyllic weather that a place like San Diego has. Instead, I get to experience a little bit of everything.

Summer nights and long warm days
Are stolen as the old moon falls
And my mirror shows another face
Another place to hide it all
Another place to hide it all

– Chris Cornell, “Seasons”

Summers are actually summers here. The sun gets blazing hot. We get the kind of humidity that makes you sweat and feel like you’re collecting moisture like an old sock. I also get to experience thunderstorms, sometimes severe; and even the threat of the occasional tornado.

Autumn service was a wonderful transition to prepare us for the coming winter. The temperatures gradually cool. The days get shorter. Leaves on trees begin to change colors.

Winter, well, my least favorite season of the year even has its bright spots. At night, after a decent snowfall, the surrounding light reflects off the snow, giving the impression that it’s not completely dark outside. Holiday lights look no better than they do serving as a stark contrast to winter’s ivory blanket.

It’s been a long
A long time coming, but I know
A change gon’ come
Oh yes, it will

– Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come”

Once everyone is ready to burst out of their homes, spring comes again. The day is gradually getting longer snow begins to melt. Although this leads to a lot of mud in some sloppy conditions, at least we know from the weather is only going to get better still.

The different weather from The Four Seasons establishes a sense of continuity. It’s a physical reminder to us, without looking at the calendar about the passage of time.

There’s a joke about living here that “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. It will change”. That might be the most important part of the change in seasons. No matter how miserable you feel, no matter how hard things get, you know that things are inevitably going to change sooner or later.

I lived in the southeast from 2004 until 2012. And while I absolutely adore the warmer weather – and the fact that I would turn my air conditioning on in March and leave it on until November – I missed the natural transition; the natural order of things that comes with the changing of the seasons.

Well, all of this, and the fact that my metropolitan area has teams from all four major North American sports.…

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

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• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

The article “Seasons” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.