I live a block from the ocean.

Don't be jealous.

Everyday, weather permitting, I walk about 4 miles along the shore. It's my therapy.

My time to allow my senses to luxuriate and appreciate where I live and what I'm blessed to have in front of me.

The sandpipers tiny, thin legs move quickly to the left or right to let me pass.

The pelicans glide effortlessly overhead until they spot their prey worthy of a plunge dive.

The rare dolphin sighting is exciting and requires patience.

Wait for the fin to resurface farther away from the first glimpse.

Stop and wait patiently until, there they are again!

Nature requires patience.

Nature has taught me patience and acceptance.

I've noticed that when most of us talk about nature, it's centered around the weather.

We clump together and complain that it's too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too cloudy, too windy, too whatever.

Why don't we talk more about the incredible beauty of nature instead of complain?

I've come to the conclusion that our individual weather experiences shape us and in ways unites us.

We all have a love/hate relationship with the weather. Here's mine:

The Hate relationship:

I was a "walker" from kindergarten to 9th grade. As a puny 5 year old, I walked by myself to school.

Yup, in the snow, rain, sleet and occasionally sunshine. Upstate New York is not known for sunshine.

I don't ever remember minding that I had to walk.

I really liked it, and the weather was never an issue, until junior high.

That's when hair mattered.

The first peek out the window in the morning would dictate the whole day.

Rain, nooooooooo!

My hair, that I had spent hours burning to straight, would recoil to frizzy curls the minute I stepped outside.

My bangs would shrink up to my scalp and my Mount Rushmore forehead would be in full view. (SCREAM)

I can fake sick.

Damn you, Mother Nature!

There was an "ice storm of the century" in my hometown on March 3rd, 1991.

Freezing rain fell for about 17 hours. My Mom had died 2 weeks before.

A tree fell on our kitchen roof. We were without power for days.

I can still remember feeling I would never be warm or happy again.

I hate the cold. I hate the ice. I hate broken family trees.

Damn the world and Mother Nature.

The Love relationship:

SNOW DAY!

It didn't happen often, but when it did, get ready to get bundled!

I loved tasting the snowflakes, falling in the snow drifts as tall as me, the huge icicles hanging off the house.

A day of sledding on the saucer, digging tunnels, building snowmen, making snow angels, freezing snot, frostbite and no school!

Thank you, Mother Nature!

WEDDING DAY!

It rained. Granted, it was Thanksgiving weekend which typically is either snowy, drizzly or grey.

Still, I wasn't going to let a little rain take away from the "happiest day of my life." (gag)

"It's a sign of good luck!," said all my loved ones.

Bullshit, I'm divorced.

Thank you, Mother Nature, for having the foresight of a less than perfect union.

SPRING TIME!

This was my first remembrance of appreciation for nature that wasn't connected to the weather.

It was the large lilac bush behind our house.

There were a couple flat rocks in between the ground branches that were perfect for sitting on.

I'd disappear into that green and purple fort and inhale the addictive perfume.

The blooms were short lived, and I hated watching the slow flower shed but knew they would appear again next spring.

Mother Nature's dependable cycle.

I had to accept that nature has its own timing.

I had to learn patience. Not easy.

My relationship with nature is based on my lived experience.

I know there will be more storms. Devastating storms. I live in Florida, it will, and has happened.

The days of my damning and blaming are over.

I need her sun, her rain, her hot and even her cold.

All her weather has been necessary, like it or not, for growth.

I'm sure there will still be days I'll want to complain about the weather, like right now.

As, I write this, it's raining and storming quite hard.

I might not get a beach walk today and that pisses me off.

My hair is a complete frizz bomb. I accept.

I'll patiently wait for the clearing skies, the sun and the next brilliant rainbow.

Thank you, Mother Nature!