In a weekend filled with Nashville music, church bells, and the usual glory of October sports, something unusual happened in Nashville. California quietly invaded Middle Tennessee from October 12-14. From the Kentucky border down to Alabama, the weather handed southerners everything but the Pacific Ocean.
   Growing up in Westwood, five miles from the sea, I didn’t fully appreciate the gift of a California day until  we moved to Ohio when I was twelve. One winter in the northern snow was fun. But every winter after that left me longing for the smooth sun and gentle breezes that Mediterranean climates offer so frequently.
   For caregivers lucky enough to actually live in the Golden Bear state, I envy you…

   I grew to love California so irrationally (from afar) that I used to
think everyone must be happy to live in that climate every day. Of
course, Californians have the challenges of earthquakes, drought and crushing traffic. But they are blessed with some of the loveliest landscape in the world.
    When I closed my eyes this past weekend, I could not distinguish the feel of the air in my backyard from the air in the yard of my childhood. It was so comfortable and kind that it left me in a daze. I was grateful it was the weekend..
   For me, a California day seems to be climate controlled. There is no difference in temperature between a comfortable room and the out of doors. No one needs a coat. Everyone is comfortable in shirt sleeves. The day holds you like a kind a loving friend. The night encircles you the way a cool drink refreshes.

  In Nashville, these California days will soon give way soon to harsher weather. As these hours depart, they will leave behind a question: What is the weather like in our hearts? Can we (or do we even need to) sustain a sort of Joel Osteen-like smile inside of us in the midst of winter’s overcast eye?
   I’m not sure it’s realistic or desirable to try and be happy all the time the way Pastor Osteen seems to be. He’s a helpful image to so many. But real life can’t support such a smile-all-the-time existence.
    The good news is that we don’t need to pursue constant happiness. Joy lives in being present to whatever reality appears before us. Caregivers need to be able to live some "California days" in order to  sustain us through winter nights. The way for us to do this is to cultivate Love. Love rejoices in the kind of weather that shinned across Tennessee this weekend. And she is also grateful for cold, rain, and snow. We don’t want to live the same weather every morning anymore than Phil in Groundhog Day wants to live the same day over and over. Love knows this. She knows it takes all seasons to create a quilt that is a work of art.

-Erie Chapman