Spending Christmas in Arizona, and flaunting it to your friends back east


There are a lot of reasons why I love Arizona, and one of my favorite things to do is to flaunt the beautiful weather around Christmastime to my friends back east.

I moved away from the snow and cold of Minnesota when I was 19 (which was quite a while ago!) but I'm still thrilled by how gorgeous it is in Arizona in December. The first year I just kinda stood around and gaped. I still do that, but have another Christmas tradition, telling my friends back east how wonderful it is here. I used to send postcards to my friends, now I just post the weather, with a picture of a beautiful blue sky, on Facebook. If you're a friend of mine there, you saw me do it yesterday.

73 degrees on December 20th.

Yes, it gets awfully hot in the summer, which lasts pretty much all year in Phoenix, but from October to May it's the most beautiful weather in the world, especially if you like to golf. Blue skies, sunshine, and what I describe as "Chamber of Commerce weather". Phoenix usually gets a little little rain at the end of December, which I call "Christmas rains" - gentle and good for my garden (you can't play golf every day!).

I've lived here for a long time, and it's my greatest wish that I will always be able to live here. And I've talked to people who grew up and Phoenix, and of course they have no idea what I'm talking about. They take it all for granted, and I guess I understand. But I spent the first 19 years of my life cold and miserable, walking to school in the snow (yes, uphill both ways!), shoveling snow, and delivering newspapers in the snow. And make no mistake, Minnesota snow and cold isn't the pleasant stuff they get in Flagstaff. In Minneapolis, a blizzard wasn't ever enough to close my school. My brothers and I listened to the radio every morning to see if the school would ever be closed because of snow, and it never, ever was. As you can tell, I'm still bitter about that. Three feet of snow and 40 below zero! No problem! Walk to school! When I was old enough to drive, read a map, and had finished High School, I left Minneapolis for Phoenix.

As you can see from the photo at the top of this post in 1893, this is a time-honored tradition in Phoenix. So if you're in Phoenix during Christmastime, don't forget to get out there and appreciate how wonderful it is! And send a photo to your friends back east.
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