70°F

I think about

How yesterday was 70°F.

And how my best friend before I moved,

And is still my best friend,

Told me it was going to snow there

On Saturday.

I think about

How last year on this day

The temperature had been

13 degrees cooler.

I think about

How last year my sister had told me

It was a La Niña year;

One of the hotter years.

 

I remember

Opening the weather app

And seeing three numbers;

110°F.

Scorching, and humid.

That was the summer.

I remember 

When it would finally rain

After one week

Or two weeks

Without it.

And when it rained

It thundered.

I remember 

How I’d watch out my window.

Or by the sliding door

That is by the table.

Most of the time it was just flashes.

But sometimes, it would fork.

And I’d go to my older brother’s room to try and take a picture.

I think about 

How last night

It had finally rained

And how the headache I’d had

Finally eased.

It wasn’t a summer storm.

And it hasn’t been hot like the summer.

But yesterday,

In the middle of December,

Was nice.

We took a walk.

Not across the snow,

Or to get out of the bitter wind

And the freezing cold biting our cheeks.

Just a walk

To enjoy the sun

And the warmth.

It almost felt like summer

Back home.

Or spring,

When the snow had just started

To melt.

And we’d walk outside in T-shirts and snow boots

And talk about my birthday

As we crunched on the ice.

And we’d watch the stream by the driveway 

Bubble over the rocks

And into our pond;

Happy to be rid of 

The winter freeze.

I think about

How it’s only been three winters

Since we moved.

And when we go up north,

45 degrees is the new freezing.

I think about 

When I’d say ‘I’ve never been skiing’

My classmates 

Would be shocked.

I think about 

How I still have my bracelet. 

The ones we made 

On the last day of school

In 5th grade. 

The one with the brown bead 

On the white string.

I wonder if anybody else has theirs. 


 

I think about

How my younger brother

Who’s never played in the snow before.

And how excited he gets

Whenever it starts snowing.

But it never sticks around for long.

I think about

How all my friends have been skiing lately,

And how I love the snow too.

But walking outside

And enjoying the sun

When it’s 70°F

In the middle of December

Is nice too.