Can I Wear a Sweater and Boots Yet?

Written by Kendall Bergman

Welcome to North Texas in October, people! Checking the weather app on our phones becomes habitual this time of year…it’s probably habitual for us every month of the year. What did we do before this advanced weather app technology? Good question. We watched the evening news, read the annual Farmer’s Almanac and prayed for frosty mornings. We became familiar with disappointment.

Such is the life for those of us who survived the most recent summer that was akin to living on the face of the sun. My electric bill inched higher each month as the temperatures rapidly (and seemingly exponentially) increased in lock step with the power bill. Listen…my A/C was working 24/7 to keep up with the soaring temperatures. Say…did I mention it kept getting hotter here? 

Here’s the honest truth about Summer 2022. I was truly grateful for July to close out and experience high’s in August that only maxed out in the low 100’s…like 101, 102 or 103. Oh…and did I mention Texas was also in a drought? The yards around here looked like scorched earth. And you knew which neighbors were watering their yards outside of local ordinances. Irritability matched the temperatures…we were judging one another…especially the neighbors with green yards. We were angry, weary and desperate to be outside as little as possible.

Thank goodness for the rain that showed up. Our souls were temporarily soothed. I was brought to tears one afternoon late in July as clouds covered the sky and about 4 in the afternoon the heavens opened up and sweet, precious, longed for rain drenched the earth. It was extraordinary. Again…I was immensely grateful. 

Enough about the summer. Let’s talk about the fall. Are you already bundled up in your cute wool sweaters? Have you been wearing your fantastic boots? If you answered yes to either question, you must not live in Texas. I know some of you run super cold all year round and never stop wearing boots. Bully for you! A lot of us run hotter than hot…partially because we’ve always run hot and partially because…well, menopause. Thanks, menopause.

As a young child I remember the weeks leading up to Halloween and being anxious about the costume choice…not because I was unsure about the costume itself. No, I was always concerned with the weather. Was Halloween going to show up and give us an evening of mid-90 temperatures? Or, was God going to give us an evening spiking in the mid-70’s? I was always hoping for the latter, but more often than not the former is what showed up. 

I can also recall going clothes shopping for the new school year. Every store would put their fall and winter pieces on display…in August, mind you. These delightful shirts, sweaters and corduroy pants always looked so fun. Who could pass up on buying a 100% wool cardigan while it was still 100 degrees outside? Not me. I would gather up all the fall clothes my mom would allow. Inevitably, it wouldn’t be cool enough to put these things on until mid-late October. And that’s if we were lucky.

I have lived in North Texas most of my life, except for a few years in Seattle and a few other years in Austin. And I have never gotten comfortable with or completely used to the summers. I have always wondered what it would be like to live somewhere like Maine or Michigan or Idaho. 

Those years in Seattle were eye-opening for me. I discovered I enjoyed being in nature. I discovered that a constant mist of rain need not alter your daily plans. I discovered that sun deprivation is a real thing. And when you come from a state where the sun shines most of the time, you’re in for a rude awakening. Seattle is sunny for about 3 months of the year and rainy and overcast for the other 9. Seasonal affective disorder or not, I LOVED the temperatures all year round. Even so, I missed the sun! 

Okay…so what you might be asking yourself, “So what?” So a lot, actually. As I think about the many years wishing I could escape the Texas summer heat, or even the few years I longed to see more sun…all that time I was missing what was happening in the moment. 

There’s a saying I learned years ago from a friend who’s a recovered alcoholic. When she was working the 12 steps folks would tell her, “Stay where your hands are” or they’d ask her, “Where are your hands?”

Man oh man does that speak to me. This summer…in the midst of the 108 and 109 degrees days, I made a conscious choice over and over throughout each of those days…stay where your hands are. Go ahead and take the dogs for a walk. Don’t miss your workout. Get together with friends. Keep moving. I’ll tell you something…it sounds simple, but it wasn’t easy. Everything in me was shouting, “DON’T MOVE!” 

There were days when I would listen to that part of me. I would stay inside, sit on the couch and rewatch episodes of Alias. The irony is that Sydney Bristow would have kept moving…roundhouse kicking and punching her way through the heat.

Thank you for humoring me. I’m done griping for now. Fall is working its way into North Texas. It was 49 degrees when I got out of bed this morning. Hallelujah!! It’s still too warm during the day for boots, but I’ve started pulling the sweaters out. No matter how long it takes before I’m comfortable putting boots on, I will practice presence and continue asking myself, “Where are my hands?”

Are you wondering when it will be cool enough for you to both literally and metaphorically put on your sweater and boots? Do you constantly find yourself wishing for what tomorrow will bring? Are you more distracted by what’s missing rather than what’s in your life? I believe this is common for many people. I’m here to tell you that coaching can help…shift your perspective and unlock ways to move out of your stuckness. Reach out to me (kendall@thediscoverywell.com) today to schedule a free discovery call!