Nature or Nurture?

I've been predispositioned to live in warmer climates. My father was Navy and we were always stationed near the water. Born in San Diego, my brother and I spent many summer days on the beach. We would stay until the sun had drained the last bit of energy from us and tinged us a slight red. I still vividly remember standing in the surf on Coronado Beach experiencing the ocean's pull as sand was sucked from beneath my feet back into the great blue. I loved that feeling well before I could understand the dynamics of the surf. I thought it was the ocean's way of tempting me to come in a little deeper.

One summer afternoon Troy, my brother, decided to educate me about Sand Sharks. I spent much of that afternoon sitting on top of the picnic benches; he failed to tell me they only lived in the water. Big brothers have that power over little sisters.

From San Diego we moved to Oahu in Hawaii and then to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. I can't imagine living up north. I understand there is a beauty to the seasons and I can appreciate that . . . from afar. Perhaps one day we will live where snow covers the lawn in late fall and gray skies tempt more than the cat to nap, until then I'll revel in the intoxicating characteristics of long summers:

• The feel and smell of skin warmed in the sun


• The brilliant pink color the sunlight makes on your closed eyelids


• Bright blue skies and whispering breezes


• Floating in an inner tube with my toes dipped in cool water


• The sounds of my laughing children


• Forgetting I'm an adult


• Waterslides that make you catch your breathe


• The glow that comes from playing outside all day


• Water fights


• More summer days ahead . . .