Beat it

After living in California for most of my life, it's taken me the last seven years to adjust to New England weather. I noticed for the first time last winter that I didn't dig out my hat, gloves and scarf as soon as the thermometer reached 50F/10C. In fact, I found that I was quite fine going hatless and mittenless even down to about 30F/-1C.

And this summer, for the first time, I noticed that I tolerated summer's heat and humidity much better than I had in my first few years living here.

However, it is now autumn. And it's still hot, muggy, and mosquito-y, and I reached my limit sometime over the weekend. I feel like we bid goodbye to summer at the beginning of the month, but like an oblivious visitor, it's still hanging around and has overstayed its welcome. I don't know how much longer I can stand it.

It's blasphemous, I know, to say this -- and I may regret saying it as I've heard predictions for another harsh winter -- but I'm ready for sweater weather and I wish summer would just leave already.

Well, I suppose there's one way I've truly adapted to the New England weather...I can complain about it with the best of them.