Desert Philosophy by Charmer

As most of you know, we live in the desert. Not the sand dunes and tumbleweeds kind–well, except for the random crazy ones when we drove to Phoenix once. Our desert is about 2500 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains so there is a constant variety in our world.

We have extremes of hot and cold, rain and sun, cactus and snow and I got pondering that love is a lot like our desert.

There are times, especially when it is new and OMG everything is wonderful, when it is like our spring after the winter rains. Everything is blooming and colorful and you can’t imagine anything better.

And even after years together, those moments still happen and you fall in love all over again. You never know what might make that feeling spring up, but it’s just magic.

Then there are the times when it is just hot and dry and you just hold your breath and wait for it to pass. That’s our early summer and early fall. It will be 100+ for days on end with no rain and even the plants feel like they are holding their breath.

In a new relationship, those times are when you question if this is right. It’s awkward and boring and meh. We’ve all been through those parts and sometimes you push past them and sometimes you just know that it isn’t worth the fight. In more established ones sometimes it is the time to reevaluate and figure out if there’s a different path that you need to take together. Or, unfortunately, just hold on and wait for life to cool down and give you a break.

After the hot dry start to the summer, the humidity starts to rise and we get monsoons. There is crazy lightning, damaging wind and the rain falls in buckets. Normally completely empty river beds, or washes, will suddenly be filled bank-to-bank with racing water. It will take out everything in its path and then be gone in an hour.

Haven’t we all had those times? The argument starts small and then it explodes. It feels like nothing will ever be right again and then it is gone. Life goes back as it was, probably a little rearranged by the storm, but still OK. It just takes time to catch your breath again after the deluge.

Then there are the crazy times when the unexpected happens. Snow in the desert which happened three times this past winter. While the rest of the world is used to this and complacent, we get snow days for half an inch. And everyone makes tiny snowpeople and has snowball fights and revels in the beauty that it brings here.

Those are the best times in love. When you aren’t expecting it, it shouldn’t really happen, and yet BOOM! A special magical crazy time that is just yours.

And the rest of the time? Things are steady, not the highs and lows, but they are your life and your love and perfect in the way that the ordinary is so beautiful.