The sun will come out.

Sometimes I have to go to Los Angeles for work. And when I say I go to LA, I am not referring to affluent neighborhoods like Bel Aire. I am not rocking Beverly Hills or Santa Monica. I am not cruising Rodeo Drive or running into celebrities at restaurants. I am hanging out on Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Blvd. My wonderful boyfriend frequently asks where it is that I am headed so that he can mentally assess the area and the amount of caution he wants to advise while determining the amount of worry he will apply to my absence. His mother will scold him for allowing me to go alone, as if it is possible for him to accompany me. A co-worker will often give me directions to where I am going to avoid certain streets. She comments, "It is okay... you will feel safe there." Comforting. My lovely father who worked in South Central Los Angeles for decades has given me the advice to just leave before it gets dark (which will be a lot more difficult with this time change.)

Image found here

I am never worried about my safety when I am doing these client visits. I am aware of my surroundings, without looking around too much. I know that I can stand my ground and that I am not one to freeze. I know that I can think clearly in chaotic and crisis situations. Ain't no thang. I got that. What I am worried about is how long I am going to have to sit in traffic after I am done with the visits. School gets out around 3ish... I need to be gone by dark... I have a 2 hour window that puts me back on the freeway at the worst time for traffic ever. (Let's be honest, the traffic starts at like 3pm and it doesn't matter what day it is. Sometimes it blows my mind that there can be that many people headed in the same direction. So weird.)

And I am finally to my optimistic point... I have to go to LA, which is not convenient in the least. But when I am sitting in traffic and I start to get irritated that it has taken me 10 minutes to go 1 mile, I open my sunroof. I roll down my window. I smile because it is November and I am still wearing a tank top and sandals. I smile as I gladly accept sitting in traffic. I feel the joy of the sunshine and warmth that I have relished in all day long...and will soak up tomorrow as well. I do not dream of white Christmases. I dream of Christmas barbecue dinners that we eat outside. I dream of anything under 60 degrees being seen as ridiculous (because it is.)

(And there is an excellent chance that the sun is out TODAY! Right now... While you read this. Looking.... yep. Moving back to SoCal was the best decision ever. Yippee!!)