I was talking to Aunt Louise a single afternoon.
Both of us were talking about her accent and how she originally lived in the south.
She told myself and others how she hated the Winter weather they had in IL. I couldn’t understand why she would transport there if she didn’t prefer the weather. She told myself and others that when she met Uncle Bobby, she knew she would follow him everywhere. She got to Lansing, IL in the early summer, and the heat was just beginning to build. She loved how hot it was and that she was close to places where she could swim. They could take their surfboards and head to the lake if they wanted. She enjoyed the air conditioner when it was hot and humid, even though she was fine with heat the rest of the time. When fall arrived, she was still enjoying living in Lansing, IL, even though she was beginning to get a hint of what Winter was going to be like. It was getting colder every afternoon. When she woke up a single afternoon and heard the gas furnace running, she knew she was not prepared for the weather change. She needed a current coat, and some heavier shirts. As long as she could hear the gas furnace running she felt safe, but if something happened to the heating, she was scared. Since that was over 10 years earlier, she no longer distraught about Winter in Lansing, IL. She distraught more about dealing with summer time temperatures when she went back south for vacation. I recognize she had forgotten how hot and humid it was down south, although I thought the heat and humidity couldn’t be worse than all of us had in Chicago.