We Will Never Be Famous For Snow Boarding

Like God himself kicked an ant hill, Beaufortonians fled the incarcerating caves of winter. Running in every direction but inside, our sun deprived souls flocked to the warmth of an old familiar friend. Flip flops could be spotted at just about every turn, our furry friends hung out car windows and perched proudly in truck beds as to announce Spring is here. By golly, Spring is here!

As any Southerner well knows, it is but a teaser, an appetizer to the entrée called Summer. It is those first few days when birds beat alarm clocks, sunshine streams through window treatments with the fury of force not to be forgotten, and women face a brutal reality that bikini season is eminent. It's not quite summer, but thank the Lord it is warm enough. Warm enough to thaw the frozen smiles, loosen the layers, and remember why we live her in the first place.

Yes, we are spoiled. Yes, we absolutely lose our minds at even a warning of true winter weather. No, we don't know how to drive in freezing rain. No, we don't own coats in every color. What we do have is an almost instinctual sense of summer.

Crawling out of our caves, stretching towards the light, and immediately scheduling the rest of the year around the tides and Water Festival. Our pasty existence evolves into a sweet southern style envied and emulated by those regionally less fortunate. More accurate than our weather predicting friend the groundhog, is most definitely our friend the boat owner. It is his shadow we watch so closely.

As we ditch the sweater for the sundress, hot cocoa for hot dogs, symphony for sandbar, we enter a time when even bridge traffic becomes a bit more tolerable. It is our heritage, our genetics, our deep southern roots that cause our unmistakable seasonal adjustment. We will never be famous for snow boarding, our schools will always close at first flurry, and we will never quite know the correct way to wrap a scarf; however, we can go from boat to boat with Olympian agility and soar through summer heat with a smile.

Dust off the koozies, grab the sunscreen, wipe the sleep from your eyes; Spring is about to dock her boat and it is our time to shine!