Aaahhh!

     In a letter to her mother in 1912, my thirteen-year-old Aunt Medora wrote: I think when people complain of the weather they just have nothing to say and want to say something…
     I think there is a lot of truth in Medora’s statement.  Speaking about the weather is right up there with the greeting, “How are you?” and the response, “Fine, and you?”  They are all pleasant gambits that acknowledge another person but, in general don’t mean much.
     But, having said all that, I need to speak of yesterday’s sunshine!  “Marvelous!” as my late friend Ossie Steiner would have said.  Not only was it sunny all day, but it was the second day in a row.  And, for the first time in weeks, the clouds and rain didn’t blow in suddenly and spoil an otherwise perfect day.
     For Nyel, a Northwesterner by birth, it was warm enough to wonder what happened to his shorts – never mind that both of us decided a few years back that our days of shorts-in-public-or-even-in-private are over.  For me, a Californian by upbringing, it was warm enough to go without a jacket—at least until late in the afternoon when that cool breeze turned a bit brisk.
     When I first moved here, people’s clothing choices for sunny weather were somewhat of a mystery to me.  I’ve finally figured out that wearing sleeveless dresses and tank tops and short shorts has nothing to do with warmth – only with sun.  That’s a concept that is still difficult for me.  Whether or not it’s in the 30s in February, if the sun is out so are the ‘summer clothes.’  But, after this year of sun deprivation, I understand far better.
     Fashion statements notwithstanding, yesterday was a day to remember.  We lolled around on our spiffy new Adirondack chairs watching the girls compete with the robins for worms and marveling at how low the tide was.   Maybe, we mused, we could walk clear to Long Island.  But logic and good sense prevailed.  We only walked as far as the kitchen now and then to replenish a cup of tea.