When I was growing up in the southeast, I never got to experience an idyllic winter holiday season like I saw in movies.
My area is so hot year round that we don’t even get light snow flurries like a few of the states northward do.
I keenly remember winters where the air conditioner was on more days than not. It’s one thing to have a Christmas without snow in cold weather, but experiencing it in a place with palm trees, heat, and high humidity is downright miserable. Despite having no real plan for how I could leave the state, I fantasized about it throughout my childhood. I was enamored with the town that my cousins resided in for years whenever we got to visit them out west. There were green pine trees for as far as the eye could see, along with rolling hills. My home state isn’t just hot, it’s also completely flat. But when I finally moved up north, I wasn’t ready for the crazy transition from one climate extreme to another. I finally got my white Christmas that I was asking for, but it was followed by a week of non-stop snow storms. As this was my first Christmas up north like this, I was completely prepared to be snowed-in like this. Thankfully the electricity never went out during this time and my central furnace was working well. As soon as the roads were safe again, I climbed into my car, cranked on the heater, and drove to the store for supplies. Even the stores were warm from indoor heat, although they use large boiler systems instead of fan-forced furnaces.