There are a lot of things that I love about the town I live in. I love that I’m in Arizona (a state is truly beautiful if you’ve never been here) but that I don’t have to suffer through the high temperatures. I love that my home is surrounded by mountains and pine trees and wild animals. I love the vibes I get from this place. I dream about it when I’m away.

Today, though, I was reminded again of a reason to love this place. Just when you think you’ve got the weather figured out, it throws you for a turn. A favorite saying is “If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes.” I was awoken by popcorn snow hitting my window. I looked out and there was a slight spattering of snow around my deck. When I went out to warm up my car and take my baby out for his morning walk, I was greeted with at least 3 inches of snow…with a lot more coming down.

I love that. I love that I’m kept on my toes.

It makes it hard to grow things in this area. In fact, we have one of the shortest growing seasons on the earth. We have deep freezes into June and they begin again at the end of August. It’s hard to grow things here. But, it’s also enjoyable. I love those summer mornings that are brisk. The year it snowed on June 17th was a memorable one.

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I’m picking up my 4-year-old niece from pre-school today. I don’t get to do this very often so it’s always a treat to see her in the middle of the week. Her parents both have to work late and asked if I would help out. Happily, I agreed.

So, I called over to affirm the plans. My sister-in-law tells me that my niece is pretty excited about me picking her up.

My niece’s words: “She really wants to see me?”

Well, yes, of course.

She makes my heart swell.