People always ask why I leave for the summer. Why on earth would you want to leave when the weather is so nice? The short answer, I leave to get an actual summer. A real one, where temperatures are around 30 degrees consistently and the sun shines. You feel heat, even in the shade. That’s why I leave.
Autumn vines in the Ventoux.
Anyone who knows me understands I am very emotionally affected by weather. It could be because I do so much outside, the weather can make or break any given day. Or it could be that since I left Ontario I haven’t had any real seasons and I am just desperate for seasonal weather.
It’s currently snowing in Calgary. Hardly one week into October, only a few weeks into autumn and it’s already winter. The fact is, there are no seasons there. There is winter and a long shoulder season with a few days of spring, summer and fall sprinkled in. I do not handle it well. This is not normal in other parts of Canada to get snow any time of year like it is in Calgary. The good summers, long autumns and glorious springs are anomalies. What is happening now happens far more often than not. So yes I leave. I leave to ensure I get summer right until Sept 21st and then the following season in due course, autumn. You know it? It lasts 3 months before winter arrives—that season.
People have many reasons for living where they do: family, jobs, convenience. I respect that. It’s unfortunate for some of us, the weather isn’t one of the reasons. What I find even more frustrating than winter all-year-long is the desperate need to pretend the weather isn’t actually all that bad. Saying something negative about it appears to be a form of treason, a sacrilege! When people look you in the eye and say, “I’m fine with minus 30 degrees because at least it’s sunny!” Please, exposed skin will freeze in eight seconds and the sun will do nothing to change that. It’s a health hazard, you could die. Are you really going to pretend it’s fantastic? I beg you, let’s not. It doesn’t make it better.
So there you have it. I am not a winter person, never have been. Definitely not a winter person when it lasts over half the year. I desperately need Provence’s endless blue skies and Mediterranean climes. I need to be somewhere where everything grows, is lush, bountiful and alive. It makes my heart feel full and my spirit at peace. I need it, it’s as simple as that.
