Yesterday I was driving on TV highway,around 1.45 p.m and found the inside of the car too warm,and decided to roll down the windows.I checked the temperature and it was 68 degrees F outside.With the windows down,it was cool and comfy in the car and that sensation took me back 15 years,to 1997 when I landed in Oregon.We arrived on the 22nd of September if I remember right and boy was it cold!!
I needed a comforter to keep me warm and walked around the house turning the room heaters on because I was too cold-much to the amusement of my husband!Having recently arrived from India where the minimum in winter(yeah,like they have defined seasons!!) rarely hits 68 degreesF,it was like I had landed on the  North Pole.
The first winter was the most depressing winter I had in my entire life(until then!)-too cold,too lonely,and we had snow-quite a lot of it,by my standards.And it seemed unending-it was almost July 1998 before I started feeling warm again and the idea that this was how it would be every year was enough to make me cry.
And the clothes!!Winter clothes and summer clothes-the delineation was pretty strict-I was used to wearing the same kind of clothes year around and found that jackets were not optional attire,and scarves and gloves  do help keep the cold away.But the sheer labor involved!!
Over the years,I have gotten used to the seasons and the change that comes with them.Actually,I have started enjoying the seasons and their distinctiveness.
The tiny buds that you suspect are shoots,do end up opening up in a rash of green across the place,daffodils and tulips releasing their riot of color in every front yard,apple blossoms peeking out on trees,azaleas and rhododendrons blooming in all their glory,and ofcourse the rain that relentlessly keeps going,and in the process,sowing that doubt in your mind-is it really spring or not?
Spring gradually segueing into summer-still rainy,but warmer.The sun staying around for much longer and the rain gradually fading away.The advent of farmers markets all over-starting off with plants and food and seedlings and gradually,Hood strawberries come in-sweet,ripe and mushy.And then the deluge-raspberries,blackberries,blueberries,cherries,vegetables,flowers,plants,and ever so slowly,melons,tomatoes,corn,chillies,peaches,pears,plums and then, the final bell announcing the approach of fall-apples!
Fall is still warm ,atleast warm enough-I no longer feel cold in September-I wear all my Indian clothes and don't take out my jacket until almost the middle of November-so I have evolved into an Oregonian over the years.And there are a lot of things going on in fall-Thankgiving,Christmas,a couple of birthdays and ofcourse that crazy busy shopping season that  sustains us.
The real depression inducing period is actually pretty short(this was the conclusion I came to,yesterday while sitting in my car,in October,at 68 degree F and the windows open!!)January to maybe mid February-because by then it becomes very obvious that spring is almost around the corner-if the calendar isn't proof enough,then the buds and shoots on trees and the bulbs starting to poke out of the ground confirm it.And it is spring again!!And the cycle starts all over -so my conclusion-it isn't too bad!!
Like I said,the bad patch lasts maybe a month and a half and then we are good to go.
Also,we don't have torrential rains,hurricanes,tornados and drought to suck the enjoyment out of summer and fall.While I have to concede that earthquakes and volcanoes are definitely in the picture-the risk they pose is, in a sense something unavoidable and relatively unpredictable,one need not be assured of an earthquake or two every year and prepare accordingly.
So,coincidentally Portland has been picked the fifth best city to live in for hipsters( not most of us,but hey we'll take it) by Businessweek and here I am saying,amen to that!!