Pros & Cons of the West

Pros of Living in the Mountain West
(and stuff that doesn't happen in the Midwest)

1. Sun 95% of the time
   
2. Nearby Mountains for days long adventure
3. Cool summer nights and starry skies
4. Sun 95% of the time
   
5. Low Humidity allowing a hairstyle to last more than 1 hour
6. Few pesky bugs
7. Sun 95% of the time
8. Roads snow and ice free within a few days of snowstorms
9. The ability to dry off completely from a shower
   
10. Sun 95% of the time in the Winter when the shortened days bring about SADD.

Pros of living in the Midwest

1. Spectacular Fall Colors which you can't find unless you drive a while to the Canyons to get a glimmer of the profuse Colors available to Fall Trees in the Midwest
   
2. Large, thick, lush trees, dwarfing houses and buildings; the opposite of the small, short trees that struggle to live in the desert, providing much less shade than I'm still accustomed to
3. Rolling hills covered in trees and fields of some crop or other
   
4. Humidity keeping the skin hydrated eliminating the need for daily lotion rubs
   
5. Regular stunning, magnificent, and impressive Thunder and Lightning storms
6. Lawns and gardens that don't need watering when a thunderstorm has happened by in the last week or two even if you don't plant native, xerix plants

7. Thick, productive corn fields surrounded by trees and thick grass, not scraggly juniper trees and sagebrush
   

Despite all the wonderful things I miss about the Midwest I love the Sun that shines almost all the time here in the West. It pretty much makes up for everything else that I miss. I miss the rows and rows of corn to be seen outside any city. I miss the huge trees of wide variety everywhere that show profuse shades of all Fall Colors every year. I miss the incredible thunder and lightning and horrendous showers that make cars stop on the road from their ferocity. I've forgotten what it's like to not need lotion every single day slathered over my whole body. But despite this and everything else I miss, (the cute old towns, old churches, down-to-earth people everywhere) I LOVE the sun that shines the vast majority of the time, bringing me a ray of hope during the short winter days, which is soon to be upon us.

Sun

I just barely got my sunglasses back from the optical shop and the sun decides to hide behind the mountains until after I get to work and it disappears on the other side just before I leave! That dang sun makes it hard to show off my stylish new specs. And to make matters worse it will be like this for at least two months. The winter solstice this year is December 21, 2008 at 7:04 am eastern standard time. It will take at least another month to get to this same length of day.

Whenever I get sad about the shortness of days I try to count my blessings. I'm glad I don't live in Alaska where the days are MUCH shorter. And on the flip side, how do you ever go to sleep at night while it's still light outside? When I was in England the sun came up around 4 or 5 in the morning. We had no problem getting up at 6:30 in order to get an early start on sightseeing.

I'm also glad I live in the Northern Hemisphere. It would be so unseasonable to have Christmas in the middle of Summer. I may not love the cold but it doesn't seem right if Christmas doesn't have some snow. I remember reading an article that said even in South America Christmas cards had snowy pictures on them, imitating the north!

I must stay positive as we hit this time of year. I must not succumb to the depression that sets in so readily as the days shorten and shrink. I will come out of this winter happy and alive!