TEXAS
October is always such a bananas time of year for us, because it’s supposed to be Fall, even though Autumn in Texas is really considered to be Summer-lite and everyone dreams of a Spring or Fall wedding. It is in fact beautiful and the temperatures are starting to cool off in the evenings and the mornings are almost refreshing. We even planted some rye grass seed; something we do the last week in September every year.
Now that being said, today it was 95 degrees outside and tomorrow is supposed to be 96 and “it’s so dry, we’re spitting cotton” as the farmers say. I’m so over this weather. By this time of year, this born and bred Texan is getting a might scorched and grouchy. I heard someone say that summers in Texas are God’s way of reminding us why we don’t want to go to hell. Amen sister.
By 8:00am on Monday, it will be 63 degrees. A THIRTY-THREE degree drop in a single 16-hour period of time. By Friday, we will need heaters at our wedding, because the low is supposed to be 48 degrees.
So, to recap for those who can’t ride and chew at the same time, summer is today through Sunday, Fall is scheduled for Monday through Thursday of next week and Friday is winter. Rinse, repeat. For the next two months.
Welcome to Texas, y’all.
My husband is a born and raised Yankee but claims Texas as his home and I swear that man has a deeper southern drawl than I’ll ever be caught red handed with and he does indeed bleed burnt orange.
We are different, he and I. I am calm, he is passionate. He is quiet, I can talk the legs off a chair. He works as fast as greased lightning and often haphazard, I work methodically and can be slow as a turtle wasting daylight. Where he is gruff on the exterior and I am soft, don’t confuse the two because he’s as soft as a marshmallow on the inside and I’ve been known to make a hornet look cuddly. We both have a fun sense of humor and we make excellent travel partners. We complement each other some days and can be at each other’s throats the next, but it works. It works because we make it work; it doesn’t happen on its own.
I think it’s easy to see the differences in those around us and find fault in those we don’t necessarily agree with. When days are difficult, it’s crucial to find the common ground, to find what unites us and what is true and noble and worth fighting for. Leave the name calling to the bullies of the world and search out someone who just needs a hug. It’s “better to keep your mouth shut and seem a fool then to open it and leave no doubt”.
I come from a long line of Texans and have been raised around a lot of Texas colloquialisms, or phrases common to the south but absurd to those “not from around here”. While doing a little research, I came upon a 1984 copy of Texas Monthly magazine that features more Texas sayings than I’ve ever seen in one place. I used a few in this blog and recognized way too many of them, for even my comfort, but it takes a strong will and a big sense of humor to be from these parts. If you want to have some fun, then head on over yonder. For me?
That’s all she wrote, ya hear?
Elaine
