I was born in the Midwest and grew up in California. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona a little over 20 years ago. I spend almost every  day wondering why.

As a little girl I enjoyed the four seasons in the Midwest and looked forward to each of them. Summer was the time for fun and staying up late to chase firefly’s and bike riding until the sun went down. No school meant getting up later every morning and many adventures in the undeveloped areas around our home. Looking for fairies and leprechauns in the woods, occasionally swimming in one of the Great lakes (before it was declared unsafe due to polution) and being with my friends. Fall meant beautiful colors, the smell of burning leaves and Trick or Treating. Winter was the most fun of all because we had a pond in our backyard which froze and I skated  from morning until night. Walking to school in the freezing cold was invigorating and dodging the occasional snowball was a part of the winter ritual.

At the age of twelve I moved with my family to California and had to re-adjust to much warmer weather, but we still had seasons that changed. Summer was hotter but we had the beach. Fall was less pungent but the leaves fell and the weather cooled off. Winter was a bit disappointing because there was no snow on Christmas in the Valley where I lived but it still got cold enough to wear coats.

In my late 40’s, my husband and I decided to move to a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona to be closer to his oldest son and because the cost of living was much cheaper than California. I got tired of working two or three jobs just to afford a small 700 square foot Condo and in Phoenix we could actually purchase a three bedroom house for half the price of our California Condo. I had no idea about neighborhoods so we settled for a cute cottage in what seemed like a quiet neighborhood in West Phoenix. Little did I know that I was surrounded by gang-ridden areas where the sound of gun shots at night were not uncommon.

Eventually, we moved to a retirement area which was much more suited to the quiet life style that we sought. We found a nice home and settled in for the rest of our lives. Sadly, what I discovered living in Phoenix was not to my liking because there was something very important missing…….seasons!