I miss summer thunderstorms in the South. The way the whole house would shake as I held our babies in my arms. Staring into their wide eyes, waiting for the next flash of lighting and startling booms of thunder. I miss the excitement the storms brought on the long hot days, breaking up the sun’s crippling heat and putting on a show for us with a much-needed breeze.
I also love the calm, reliably perfect summers here in Washington. I love the crisp mornings and the cloudless days of robin’s-egg blue skies. I love how we can keep the windows open most days and eat dinners on the back patio without sticky air or bothersome bugs. I love how long the summer days are here. It’s as if they know how precious they are, allowing us to squeeze the most we can out of our time under the sun before leaving too soon.
I miss the brief and mild winters of the South, the way summer was its default setting. I miss how the warmth would creep back in by the end of March or beginning of April and not depart until close to Christmas. I miss October beach trips and February picnics under the sun. I miss babies crawling around in diapers and nothing else for half of the year, and I miss the days I didn’t spend every morning searching for the other sock, glove or rain boot.
I love fall in Washington. I love waking up in the mornings to blankets of fog, soon making way for blue skies. I love the vibrantly colored leaves covering the sidewalks for my children to collect. I love that I can wear my cozy sweaters without needing to shed them by noon. I love the anticipation of and preparations for home projects, books to tackle, movies to watch, and board games to play with the kids while we drink hot chocolate. I love dreaming of the cozy days waiting for us just around the corner.
I miss living near our family members who are all on the opposite coast. I miss being in the same time zone and being able to call my mom or sister after I get the kids to bed. I love the adventures we give our family members when they come to visit. I love how special the time we have with them has become and how we make the very best of every moment.
I miss warm beaches and swimming pools and endless afternoons of water games and too many popsicles. I love making fires and flying kites and exploring tide pools on cold beaches along the Pacific coast and how the sun sets over the ocean.
I miss rural landscapes and country backroads. I miss the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance on long drives. I love that I can see Mount Rainier from wherever I am; its towering snowy peak trying to pull me away from reality with hypnotizing majesty. I love how we can take any exit off the highway and end up at a state park. I love how the hiking trails feel right out of a fairytale here, and the world feels extra colorful in these mountains.
Possibly my favorite thing about Washington — The Evergreen State — is the evergreen trees. I love how each one seems to have its own personality, pointing crookedly in its own windblown direction. They’re beautiful against both blue skies and gray, when still and when blowing. I love how they never change, how their eternal green is something we can count on during our colorless winters.
It can be easy to move to a new duty station — possibly one you don’t like — and look at everything through jade-colored glasses you never thought you’d own. It’s too easy to get caught up in the “I wish this place had/was more/was not…” (fill in the blank) mindset, comparing your situation to others.
Many know how the saying goes: We cannot control what happens to us in this life, but we can control how we respond. If you’re reading this, I encourage you to make the decision to find the good wherever you are. I promise it’s there. You just have to look around.
