It dawned on me today, after talking about the weather up north and in other far away (from me, anyway) cold places–Ireland, London, Seattle to name a few, that either I have it pretty good or we always seem to think the grass really is greener on the other side. Truthfully, we all have exactly what we need, when we need it.

I lived in New York for over twenty years and never complained about the weather there as much as I do here in Florida; but that is mostly because NY provided relief from heat when Fall, Winter and Spring arrived. There was the change of seasons to look forward to, the anticipation of shedding one type of clothing for another.

During winter, of course, you bulked up with coats, layers of clothes, donned boots, and gloves, and hats and whatever else you needed in order to stay warm–leg warmers? I have not seen or heard of those things in years! And even though I did not like the winter months, especially when it snowed, I still looked forward to some of the things that came with it–ice skating (the children, not me), concerts, plays, etc.

Our side of Florida offers no such season changes, but it does allow for the occasional sweater or light wind breaker now and then, and a common outfit for this time of the year might be shorts, sweatshirts and sandals–a compromise I guess.

Most people assume it is hot down here all the time, not so. In the years we have lived on Florida’s West Coast, we have experienced temperatures as low as 30s and as high as the 100s; good thing the average stays in the 80s and the extremes only last for a couple of days. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes not. When it is cold up north during the winter months, our days are pretty good, cold fronts from the north produce really nice weather; mornings and evenings are nice and cool, sometimes even cold (for us) but daytime temps stay comfortable enough to sometimes warrant a trip to the beach.

That was the case this week, it started out with a couple of cold days and by Thursday it felt like Summer. So I took myself and camera to the beach, to verify what I already suspected. Our “snowbirds” (tourists) where there, not an empty parking spot could be found at the first three beaches I stopped at–Stump Pass, Englewood, Blind Pass and finally when I arrived at Manasota Key–I found a parking space, and all I wanted to do was to take some pictures.

Aah, yes, I still remember those days when I thought nothing of diving into 65-70 degree waters, brrr… thank goodness that was a long time ago. But still…what was I thinking?

And now… we dive into a New Year, 2012. Does anyone still remember how we were freaking out as the New millennium, Y2K, approached? It came and went along with 11 more years, yikes!!! Time sure flies…

Lea Michelle sings Auld Lang Syne  Happy New Year to one and all, let’s keep on reading and writing, and let us enjoy life!