Senses

When I first moved to Flagstaff, snow in the weather forecast meant putting on layers and layers I thought I would need to stay warm. It meant stepping out into the snow storm (when the weather forecast would actually be accurate) and feeling my face get chilled by the frigid air and the (literally) freezing snow. It sometimes meant losing feeling in my nose, lips, cheeks and fingers (if I had forgotten to put on gloves), only to have the feelings come rushing back in the form of a thousand little needles poking me all over my face and hands as soon as I'd step into a nicely heated building. It meant walking awkwardly to my destination to avoid slipping on ice (or anything else on the ground, really). Once indoors, it was usually less than five minutes before I'd have to take off some of the layers as it would suddenly be too hot to be wearing so many jackets and sweaters. Yeah. I looked like a freshman.

As I've said before, I love the snow. I have ever since moving to Flagstaff. But it does take some getting used to. You have to learn how to drive in it (hopefully not the hard way) and you have to learn that as long as you stay moving and don't stick your head in a pile of snow, you probably won't freeze to death. You have to learn that 20 degrees and snowing isn't that bad unless it's windy. Most importantly, you have to learn not to believe the Flagstaff weather forecasts until you see it.