It is nearly 100 degrees here today. My house is air conditioned, as is my workplace, so I cannot complain about the heat. I am so spoiled in my life. Although I know there are people who don’t even have homes, it blows my mind that some people live in homes without air conditioning in the year 2011. I have a lot of tolerance for keeping the heat off when others would turn it on, but I am one of the first in the neighborhood to insist to the air conditioning must be on. With the exception of the residence halls in college, I don’t believe I have ever lived anywhere without central air. And I didn’t live in the residence halls in the hottest part of the year. Yes, I have been quite spoiled in this life.
I am somewhat defensive of Iowa and Iowa’s weather. People here complain so freaking much about the weather. They complain in the winter about the cold, snow, and wind. They complain in the spring about the rain. They complain in the summer about the heat…Of course, without the weather, half of the population would be unable to start a conversation.
Every winter I hear comments like, “This cold is just ridiculous,” “It’s below 10 degrees again,” or “I just hate how freezing it is.” I typically nod knowingly, but come on people—it’s Iowa. What did you expect? Did you really not think it would snow this year? Did you think it would be above 20 degrees for all of January? The same goes for summer. People say it’s too warm, too humid, etc. Again, is the heat and humidity a surprise? One of my thoughts is that you can either complain about winters or summers here, but not both. If you hate the cold, don’t complain when it’s 100 degrees. If heat kills you, you need to appreciate December and January.
I will admit that I don’t always love the weather here. However, I choose to live here. Which brings me to my next point: If you don’t like it here, there are 49 other states. Try one of them. I had an opportunity almost two years ago to move to a warmer climate in the Southeast US. I had a job offer and really debated whether I should stay or go. I chose to stay here. I chose Iowa, weather and all. I had a chance to leave and didn’t take it. It can’t be that bad here.
I have only lived in three states: Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. I am a Midwesterner by heart, and I used to be hesitant to claim that. I thought I would go to college here and leave for good. And I still don’t think I will live in the Midwest my entire life. However, being a Midwesterner is not a bad thing. It’s not exotic or exciting, but I’m fine with it. Even somewhat proud of it. I can easily grow a million tomatoes in my summer garden (if my dog wouldn’t eat every last one of them right before they ripened). I can be four years behind in fashion without being ripped apart—it’s just expected here. (And professors are the worst dressed people in the world anyway, so I could get about with being 12 years behind as a professor in the Midwest.) I also love the Midwest because I get to have a basement. Yes, it’s a place to put all of the junk that I’m not quite ready to get rid of, but if I lived somewhere else, all of that crap would be in the garage. Also, it’s flat here. As a runner and sometimes cyclist, I am okay with that.
That's all for now. Stay cool, campers.
We just spend 5 days visiting family in Dallas, and not once was it under 100 degrees at mid-day. That is why I strive never to complain about the four feet of snow outside in January. And my cousin, a Houston native, asked my mom, "So - what do you do with a basement?" She replied, "You store all your stuff that's out of season - and you hide under the stairs during a tornado." I love the Midwest. :)
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