Having grown up in Australia, experiencing a genuine change of seasons is a relatively new experience for me. I was used to rainy, cool and rainy, warm and melting. In New York, there are SEASONS. You need a couple of different coats, like a light one, a warm one, and a ridiculous puffy marshmallow one. I don't think they even sell the last kind in Australia. It's also acceptable to wear hats, in fact, it's advisable. You wear these with your wellies when it snows. It's great, this socially sanctioned public wearing of wellies. And it's everywhere!
Having a very visible change of the seasons is lovely. When the leaves have turned for Autumn, they not only look beautiful, but you appreciate those warm days even more, because you know it's all going to change soon. There's pumpkin pie and Winter produce in the markets, and you start to think about a scarf and a cup of warm cider to walk around with, instead of iced coffee. The first snowfall is very exciting. Before the yellow spots from dog pee, and grey slushy bits of god knows what come along, it's perfect and clean and white and quiet. The first nice day of Spring brings cherry blossoms and women in floral dresses and bare legs, and everyone smiling, sitting outside sharing happiness that the cold bits are behind us. They sometimes come back, but that just means you get to do the first bit again. Summer is HOT, it's really, really hot, and it's awesome.
It's dramatic and lovely to mark the passage of time like this, it helps to really commit memories when you can remember what it was like outside when something happened.
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