Don't Move to Seattle

What is up with this funky weather we are having up here in Seattle? Did Nature forget that this is August? August in Seattle is the BEST month! Rather, it is supposed to be the best month. Nothing but glorious blue skies allowing the sun's golden rays to tickle the water of the Puget Sound, Lakes Washington and Union giving the water logged, blinded by incessant gray Seattleites beautiful twinkling blue diamonds to gaze upon as we drive to work, school, the beach. There is not much that I find as stunning as Seattle on a sunny day. On the flip side when the sun is hidden behind a thick swatch of clouds the twinkling blue diamonds turn into lifeless gray bodies of water reflecting the gloom of the gray clouds and gray buildings that flank the waters edge.

Summer in the Northwest is not merely a time for fun in the sun. It is a time that we NEED. When else are we going to get Vitamin D?! When, I ask! We need the sun to sustain us through the long, gray, wet year. October - May and often into June and July SUCK in the Northwest. Sure we will get teasers, a couple of dry days coupled with blue skies in the winter are cold days for sure but they are BLUE days when you can see the foreign seldom seen yellow orb in the sky that people in other parts of the country know as the sun. On these days when the sun is out and it streams its bright, glorious light into your house or car you can feel the warmth and life it is giving. But these days are so rare. So very, very rare.

We usually get a couple of nice days thrown at us at random in the Spring when the sun is out, the clouds are few and fluffy and it gets just warm enough to roll down the windows in the car. I bet the homicide rates on these days drops drastically. Who wants to be all angry and go on a killing spree when the sun is out?

But then the clouds come back and we plunge back into darkness. We go on living. Living in the rain. Living in the cold. Living in the damp, the wet, the rainy, the mildewy weather. We go on living because we know, we know that once late July is here we will see the sun. All of that rain we put up with will keep everything around us, save the grass, green while we enjoy the heat of our incredibly short summer. We live for summer. Summer in the Northwest is like a glimpse into heaven. It gets just hot enough on some days that we are reminded that we do have it good, because even on the really, really hot days you still can't fry an egg on the sidewalk.

There are many a soul who have moved to Seattle after their torrid love affair with the summer. They see the beautiful, sleek Seattle with perky people everywhere. Our summer perk is a natural one; its when the clouds slither back that we turn to our dark, rich, coffee elixir to get us through the days that start dark and end dark.

Word to the wise: if you want to move to Seattle after visiting late July, August or September - DON'T. Come back in November when our basements are flooding and our glorious trees sway in the heavy winds and threaten to topple and take down our houses. Come back in the winter (or fall or spring) and I DARE you to wear light colored pants; you will after all only be walking from your car to the office (or store or mall), what harm could possibly come from that?

Bwa-ha-ha-ha.

It's days like these, usually preceded by a week of rain and gloom, that make Eastern Washington or Arizona look appealing. Until you learn that they have days that get well above 100 degrees. No thanks. I'll just complain about the bad days when they come in our incomprehensibly short summer and pray the sun returns for at least a few days before Autumn arrives.

I usually love the arrival of Autumn. The first rains feel like a great shower, cleaning off all of the grime that has accumulated over the dry summer, the pavement is all shiny and sleek, the grass returns to its green color. The air is fresher. But how can I possibly enjoy the onset of Autumn when its starting in FREAKIN' August? It just not right!

I should go make some cocoa and toast and put on a robe and slippers and admit defeat. The sun will return again next year and I will be right here, water logged and waiting for its glorious rays to fill me to sustain me for another year.