The Great Southern Juxtaposition....

I left my native South Carolina in 1999. I'd grown up in the South where not only were the summers hot, but they were humid too. My love and need for living by a body of water had its positives, but it also meant that whether it was by the lake or by the ocean, I was going to exist in a humid environment.

After a short stint in Southern California, I spent my first northern winter in Ann Arbor Michigan. That's right here

for you Michaganders in the know.

Around December I started getting nose bleeds and really itchy skin. I started to worry that something was wrong and after all my time in health care (in the south) I couldn't figure out what sickness would have these symptoms. One of my coworkers asked "is your humidifier working OK?"

My what?

After 30 years of southern humidity being the thorn in my side, I now had to put humidity back INTO my environment. WTF? I didn't even know how to begin to do that.

I remember the humidifier that my mom used to put out when one of us was sick, but was that right? I remember it was fun to play with because you could put your face right in the mist and see how long it took the water to build into droplets that would roll down your face. (you get bored when you're out of school and cable TV hasn't been invented yet) But a modern humidifier?

So as I start my 9th winter in the north, I still marveled last night as I scratched my dry legs and realized, with aggravation and begrudging submission, that I had to fill my humidifier with 3 gallons of water and turn it on high for one night so I could put humidity BACK into my environment. So for the next 4 -5 months, this little contraption will be my good friend and keep me from getting ashy... (can white folks get ashy?)

(PS. To fellow blogger Bunny, who made the reverse move from MI to coastal SC, did you take yours with you? Get rid of it, you don't need it anymore!)