52 Shades of Grey

We live in a beautiful part of the county.  Washington is lush and green all year long.  But with this beauty comes a trade off...

As Dave's graduation from BYU drew nigh nearly two decades ago we began to research places we'd like to settle down and raise a family.  I had recently been to Georgia for my brother's wedding and fell in love with the state.  We seriously considered making Georgia our home.  But that was not where the Lord wanted us to go.  Our other choice was the state of Washington where my sister and brother already lived.  And we felt impressed that WA was where the Lord wanted us.  We had been told about the climate but couldn't fathom what they meant by cloudy weather.  Clouds to me were the white fluffy kind.  Our first summer here was wonderful.  The next few years proved to be very challenging.  Most days the skies were laced with grey clouds.  We went weeks without seeing a lick of blue let alone the sun.  It was very hard for the two of us California kids to get used to.  And I grew angry that God wanted us here where the climate was clearly taxing on my health.  I couldn't wait to move away!

Over the years I have learned to view the glass as half full instead of half empty.  I stopped looking at how horrible it was to live here and started to recognize all the beauty that surrounds us.  And I love it here.  I will not lie, living in this climate is still difficult and trying, and even in the summer we will have entire days, sometimes several in a row, without seeing the sun.  We certainly have more than 52 shades of grey here, but on a beautiful day it is so worth the wait!  I feel extremely blessed to live here.