Seasonal Memory

My mom used to tell me that women suffer during childbirth but don’t remember the pain afterwards. She had some explanation about Mother Nature choosing it that way. I am not sure why she brought that up to me often as a child, since both my brother and I (plus my daughter) were born by c-section. But apparently women suffer for 9 months, then when the child is born, the pain is forgotten; only joy is remembered.

 

Living in Michigan, I see crappy, cold weather from about September until early June. Eventually, the ice and snow melts, the flowers shoot up and trees sport fresh, green new leaves. The air gets warmer, the bricks on buildings are warm to the touch and the sunshine creeps in like a long-missing, but much-beloved relative.

 

Every year we forget about the last 9 months and we enjoy June, July and August to the extreme. Winter never enters our minds. We have beautiful summers here. It gets hot and humid, but it never stays that way for too long. We can’t go far without hitting a lake and there are lovely trees dancing in the wind every where.

 

It reminds me of my mother’s explanation of childbirth. We are so happy for summerthat we forget the suffering.

 

That is my story of why I haven’t left this state and I am sticking to it.