As Fall Set's In, And Other Thoughts Not Generally Attributed To March

I woke up and looked at the calendar on my computer. Since it says 02/03/2013, my mind still jumps and says instinctively "God, February 3rd... AGAIN!" before I make the minor adjustment and feel relief knowing it's March 2nd... When I was a kid? March 2nd meant that even though it could still snow, the end of the winter was well within view, there was light at the end of the tunnel, seasonally speaking anyway.
Around here? It means that Fall is upon us... When I was at the shops yesterday portraying my recently established friendly chatty consumer on his 'More American Than You Tour' one of the clerks pointed at the rain outside and said 'The summer is definitely over.... Well, after all, it is March.'

Wrapping your head around that is not easy for someone who's looked forward to March as the end of a weary five month period... I haven't experienced one in quite a while but it's still my understanding that from November until April isn't a time to look forward to. It seems to me that it was only a short time ago that I was sitting out by a fire pit with my sweatshirt covering my hands because they were chilly. In a daze I boarded a plane and was eating birthday breakfast at an outside cafe at seven a.m. only a mere 28 hours later or so. I can grasp it was the beginning of summer here but for some reason the holidays have a way of not synching up the way you understand them at all. Beach parties at Christmas and New Years, and I can't help but feel that now that Fall is upon us I haven't prepared my Halloween costume at all... but wait! It's March. There is no alternative Halloween season, the leaves don't even die for the most part around here. The only indication that the season's have changed <that I've noticed thus far> is a hardly noticeable dip in temperature that only occurs in the early morning hours. If need be? I can dig on the left hand side of the closet and take my 'winter sweatshirts' out of temporary storage and look forward to wearing  long pants a little bit more often. Wearing socks is another option I had completely forgotten both for fashion and protective reasons; it is a fact that I can count on one hand the number of times in the last four months I have pulled a pair of socks over my ugly 'fred flintstones'. What will come to be known as the 'Hottest Summer on Record in Australia' is officially a season of the past.

Trying to be compassionate without subconscious smugness rearing it's ugly head, I've had to endure parable's of snow and wind and cold and winter while understanding that eventually the sun was going to hit our balcony in such a way that we'd have to seal up our living room to protect ourselves from the heat and humidity that comes regularly in January and February.... Wait! What? I'm not complaining about the weather, it's undeniably lovely. I do have the right however to be momentarily baffled trying to make sense of the weather while acknowledging the coinciding dates on the calendar. It is still disorienting no matter what beach you're at celebrating a hot Valentine's Day on a wharf... in a tank top... watching people swim, surf, and tan. Occasionally I liken it to what the early stages of dementia must feel like... You are aware of your surroundings, but are completely put off and it's as surreal as waking up in a Wallace and Grommit animated feature... Only everyone else is behaving normally in response to the surroundings. I smile and appreciate it, but inside I'm wondering why it's remotely possible that no one is holding 'The End is Near' signage due to the impossible weather that can only be caused by a major climate shift. I may be in the Southern Hemisphere but my mind is still in Massachusetts. January and February are NOT the time to be wishing the mosquito's away and wondering if you'll ever get a good nights sleep again due to the warmth.

While I'm at it, when I think of graffiti I'm never thinking that a city tunnel could be decorated this ornately by teenagers. Though there may be some very VERY offsetting tags like 'DJ Crikees' or 'Jazzy Stingray'... <Okay, I MAY have concocted those Aussie Hood Monikers>, there is something to remind you that although winter may be ending somewhere else? It's completely Down Under Upside Down here. It's quite enjoyable and I never want to stop seeing the subtle differences. It's what makes it easier to look at everything through my eyes as new and never have a dull moment.