Flip, Flop.

I grew up in flip flops.

The Gulf Coast was home to me for the first 22 years of my life.  I remember going entire winters without ever seeing a thermometer drop below 30, and when summertime rolled around, sunbathing in triple digits was a daily ritual.

So, you can imagine how I felt when I woke up this morning and  looked out of the window and saw 8 feet of snow.  Or maybe it was 8 inches.  Honestly, that's irrelevant.  When you're not even used to flurries, anything more than an inch or two is all the same.

I'm closeting the flip flops.

We've been here a year, and it's taken some time for me to feel like I can put my roots down in Chattanooga. I think that my hesitation had something to do with the fact that the ground - and everything else- was frozen, but over the course of the last year, the weather warmed up and things thawed out a little.  I've really started to like Chattanooga, and even though today's weather is making me feel totally out of my element again, I know that this is just part of the cycle.  The snow is going to melt, and spring will (eventually) get here.

I might not be able to load up the car with towels, sun-tan lotion and a mixed CD (featuring Otis Redding) and head to the beach for the day, but I have a lot to look forward to.

Come to think of it, for the most part I absolutely love it.  I don't have to love it every day to be genuinely happy that we live here.  I can go back and forth on how I feel, depending on the season, and I do.  We'll make it to Mobile again soon, and I'll be able to pull out my flip flops again.

The strange part is, once we get down there, I'm sure I'll miss my snow boots. Go figure.