The Heat Has Arrived . . So Why Do I Live Here???

Every summer when the heat wave blasts into Phoenix, I try to remind myself why we live here. And then I remember, oh yea, it is where we have a job. But, my blog friend Jenny, recently posted about her neighborhood in Washington State, and that made me give more thought to what blessings we have in Arizona, and in particular in my neighborhood, besides the scorching heat (which I do NOT consider a blessing!)


Here are a few things I thought of.


1. Longevity. We have lived in the same town for 23 years and when you have lived somewhere that long you definitely put down roots. I have seen kids be born, graduate from high school, leave on missions, get married and are now having babies of their own.

2. My neighbors Bryan and Connie. We lived by them in our old house for 11 years and then moved to our current houses together 12 years ago. They are the kind of people you can always be comfortable around. You can drop by in the evening to watch TV (they have cable, we don’t) or just visit outside over our gardens.

3. All my neighbors actually. They are all great people, most of whom I have known for many years. Over time we have enjoyed some very good times together, and have also suffered through some very deep tragedies.

4. Fresh Eggs. Everyone probably has a neighbor they can turn to if they need an egg in a cooking emergency. But here in our neighborhood we have eggs fresh from the chickens. You just can’t be too picky about color as they might come in white, brown or grey.

5. Swimming pools. (See previous post) Nearly everyone in Arizona has a pool—not just the wealthy. And just glancing out the kitchen window at the cool, blue water makes you feel better.

6. Lemons and oranges—fresh from the tree. Want some fresh squeezed lemonade? I can do that! How about fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast? I can do that too. We have one lemon tree and several orange trees in our yard, and oh, how we love their juice!

7. Convenience. We never have to shovel snow or scrape ice off the car windshield.

8. Water. We have a well with our own water supply and as long as we have electricity, we have plenty of water.

9. Mexican Food. I have to admit I hated Mexican food when I first got married. But I married a man from Mexico and we live in Arizona, so I have learned to love it.

10. The beauty of the desert. I particularly love the early mornings, sitting on my front porch listening to the birds sing, watching the jack rabbits nibble at the grass and families of quail scurry across the yard. But the wide open spaces and the sunrises and sunsets are spectacular.

So, even with the torrid heat, AZ can be a great place to live!