22nd September: heating on
19th April: heating off
That’s seven months of cold.
And now, this is what the weather chart looks like for Easter.
I can’t believe how different I feel in the warmth and the sunshine. It’s as though I’ve remembered who I am. As though for the last few months, as this northern hemisphere winter really set in, I’d been lost in the shadows; unable to decide who I am and what I want to do.
This warm weather reminds me of home; of my childhood; of growing up in the southern hemisphere... in Sydney to be precise. Yes, we had all four seasons, but the warm weather prevailed and I now realise it is intrinsically part of who I am. I particularly like the way the seasons compliment the calendar.
We start the year in the warmth, with long January holidays spent in the pool or on the beach. February gets hotter and we are all back at school or work, excited to start a fresh new year, enjoying the long days and coming home to cool drinks and sneaking in a swim before dinner. In March we are getting into the swing of the year, perhaps pulling on a cardigan at the end of the day, and where Good Friday is invariably wet and the sun shines brightly on Easter Sunday. April heralds the end of daylight-saving and the beginning of cooler days interjecting the still hot weather. By May we are well into the swing of sweeping up the autumn leaves that tumble from the trees in the cold breeze, but we are doing it mostly in the sunshine. In June, it’s dark by 5:00pm and we are enjoying hearty stews and movie nights, quietly pleased to get past the shortest day on the 21st. Six months in now, it’s winter but we have another fresh start with the new financial year on 1 July when we roll-over our books and make fresh plans for the next year. In August we are waking to frost on our gardens and perhaps even some ice on the windscreen, but the sun still shines brightly in the middle of the day and is warm as long as you are out of August’s relentless wind. We spend evenings at home in front of the heater watching the footy, as the season is getting exciting now. September brings the promise of Spring and the buds are forming on the bare, leafless trees. In October footy grand-final comes and goes and we enjoy the warmer days that spring up between still biting cold winds, but daylight-saving is here again by the end of the month. November’s Melbourne Cup day signals the count-down to the festive season and our summery dresses come out of hiding. All eyes are on organising Christmas Parties and booking tradesmen because ‘it simply must be done before Christmas!’ So here’s December, and we end the year as we started… in warmth. On Christmas Eve we close up shop and spend the next week enjoying the warm days, planning New Year festivities and trips to the beach. And so the cycle begins again.