St. Martin's Summer

The last two days have been GORGEOUS in this part of Illinois. Sixty-eight degrees, y'all! WAHOOO!
Of course, I haven't really been able to take advantage of it because of all the working and side projects, etc, but I sure have appreciated the heck out of it through the office, house and car windows. Jon took the opportunity to take an oil bath under my car, which would have been a lot more miserable if it were 22 degrees like most years, so that was nice, too.

The last time I remember such a spectacular Indian Summer St. Martin's Summer was in 2005. Right around the 3rd. Longtime readers may know that on that particular night, I went to Midway Airport at 1:10 a.m. (after my shift) to pick H (Jon) up from the airport and meet him in person for the first time. The funny thing is, I didn't know where this little meeting was going to lead, so I breezed over the experience in my subsequent post--the only reference to Jon was, "My company that night showed tremendous patience and sportsmanship, despite all the tailgating, screaming at traffic, time requesting, running, hostess pleading and inhaling of food that my tardiness demanded. The only comment was, 'you know, Cadiz, you definitely get an A+ for planning. It's just the execution that needs a little work.' "

What I didn't mention was that it was 60-some degrees and we were running around Navy Pier, Millennium Park and all over the suburban Chicago area in November without coats as if it were springtime. It was such a great weekend. For so many reasons, but the weather certainly helped.

Two years later I described that first visit again. For the record, Jon is a pro at revolving doors now. In fact, for a long time, the running line was that whenever Jon came to town, he'd bring the gorgeous So-Cal weather with him. Even in January, when we had to ice skate in a big puddle.

Sadly, when Jon moved to Chicago it seemed the streak was broken. It's been HELLA cold the last two winters. Sometimes when it's brutal, he likes to tell me the temperature in his hometown. And while I go to great lengths justifying this Midwest weather, I enjoy these heat-wave bursts more than anyone. The good news? It looks like I might have an ally on his side of the family!