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What I Know For Sure

Four years ago today, the snowy scene pictured above was my reality in the western suburbs of Chicago.

We moved to Knoxville a year and a half ago and no longer had the need for the snowblower we purchased the year that photo was taken. Although it snows occasionally in Knoxville—and yeah yeah yeah the area practically shuts down when it merely flurries and people, who don’t think about the fact that the South doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with snow, let alone the fact that the hills and sharp curves around here make traveling in icy conditions very dangerous regardless of whether the roads have been salted properly, ignorantly laugh about it—I haven’t had to use a shovel since we left Chicagoland.

When you set aside the warmer body temperatures that come with peri menopause, I get colder more quickly these days which, as a Chicago native, is super annoying (don’t you hate when you annoy yourself? I do!). This past weekend we experienced temps in the 30s and 40s up north—which isn’t even cold, am I right??—but with the added windy conditions, my skin dried out to the point of my being terribly itchy and uncomfortable.

What I know for sure is that while I sure do love my Sweet Home Chicago, I do NOT miss the (late) fall and winter weather. If you need me, I’ll be back at home in Tennessee slathering on coconut Shea butter body cream until my skin is back to normal and being thankful that I may not need my boots and winter coat at all this year.